Equinox's Revenge
by ScarlettSlaysSquids
Summary: READ NEW FEELINGS BEFORE THIS! Carmen is finally safe. She has the boyfriend of her dreams, great friends, and a successful YouTube channel. Her life is perfect, right? Wrong. Now a crazy demon wants revenge, and she might get it. Can Carmen protect her friends, or is this her last stand? I still can't write a good summary. Rated T for violence. Also by modeluchosen1.
1. Skating, Snow, and Vanished Psychos

**Welcome back to my series! Well, no longer my series. This is now written by both modeluchosen1 and I!**

**All of my (modeluchosen1) notes will be underlined. **

**And mine will be bold, as always. Just a warning, we're both a tad bit crazy. **

**Two crazy people together is never good. Ever. **

**Anyways, enjoy the first chapter!**

I stared out my window, watching the snowflakes whirl back and forth. It had been snowing for an hour now. I wrapped my blanket tightly around me to keep from getting cold. It was only 65 degrees in the house, and I was used to warm California weather.

I was visiting my mom for Christmas. Annette was with us, and Mitch was at Jerome's. I felt bad for Mitch and Annette because their families never really wanted to see them. It did mean I could spend more time with them, which I was grateful for, but I knew I'd be sad if I never came to see my mom on holiday breaks.

Annette walked into my room. "Hey, Carmen, want to go ice skating with the guys?"

"I can't imagine them on ice skates." I laughed at the thought. "They aren't exactly the most graceful people."

"Come on, you need to stop huddling up in your room and come outside! It'll be fun!"

I sighed. "Fine. Go call them."

"They're already here."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for warning me. Let me just put on better clothing."

I changed into a thick wool sweater and jeans. Since I had been living in California for the past few months, I wasn't used to the 10 degrees weather. We only had one snowstorm, and even then it was about 30 degrees. I loved the winter so much, so that was a downside to California.

I threw my hair into a ponytail and rushed downstairs. Mitch and Jerome were, in fact, already there with their gear. I grabbed my ice skates and we began the short walk to the rink. It was only a couple blocks away from my house.

"Are you any good at ice skating?" I asked Mitch on the way there. We were walking hand in hand.

"Nah. I'll probably fall. How about you?"

"Let's just say that in 3rd grade, I almost got kicked out for knocking too many people over." We both laughed.

"We can be bad together." He suggested.

I smiled. "That would be nice." He always knew what to say.

The past few weeks with him had been wonderful. I was really considering saying yes to him about our deal for a while. Now I was a bit weary now, due to me getting yet another death threat. The only difference was that this time, I wouldn't be facing a guy with a knife. I'd be facing a ruthless killer, and I doubted there would be any loopholes. I couldn't have Mitch be threatened in any way, because if Equinox knew how much he meant to me then he'd be used as bait. I was trying to make the most out of these last few days before I had to decide.

It was a whole five minutes on the rink before I crashed into someone. Luckily, it was Mitch, so I didn't injure some random stranger. He laughed it off and we went back to falling. I think my record time was about one lap around the rink.

We eventually got tired and bruised and decided to head home. On the way back it started to snow harder. I couldn't see a few feet in front of my face. The wind pushed with so much force I actually blew backwards. "It must be a snowstorm!" Jerome yelled over the wind. We ran until we got home.

"You guys can't drive in this weather," Annette said.

"You can stay here, we have enough room." I told them.

Jerome and Annette went to make us hot chocolate. I took a seat on the couch next to Mitch. We turned in the TV. "Can you turn it to the weather? I need to know how bad this snowstorm is going to be." I asked. He switched it to our local station.  
"No, one more channel," I said. "Wait! Turn it back to the news."

A reporter started speaking. "A boy has gone missing in California. About three weeks ago, an anonymous phone call came in to 911 saying a boy was hurt and that he needed help. Medics raced to the scene to find that an 18-year-old was lying in the edge if a lake. After further inspection, it appeared that he had fallen out the window, over the cliff, into the water, and then washed ashore. He was immediately taken to the hospital, where it was determined he had lost his memory.

"Researchers found out that his name is Josh Mahoney. He is a resident of California University. Before ending up in the hospital, other students say that he was last seen at a dance with his girlfriend a day before. Now, Josh has gone missing. Nurses who witnessed the incident claim that they saw a girl with glowing eyes appear and take him. Police are guessing the girl is Carmella Paige, his girlfriend." My picture was shown in the TV. I really hated that picture. "Other students who know her were interviewed."

A video of Adam and Megan replaced me. "Carmen would never take Josh!" exclaimed Adam.

"They actually broke up a few days ago because Josh was abusive." added Megan.

"Was this an attempted suicide? There is a national alert. If you've seen this man, call is Reporter Brittany Marbury from News Channel 6." A picture of Josh popped up with the number underneath.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked Mitch.

"Um... Reporters really need to get their stories straight?"

"No! Think about it. A girl with glowing red eyes who stole Josh?"

His eyes widened. "Equinox!"

I stared at the TV with shock. "She's back, Mitch. I don't know what she wants, but she's back."

**I successfully did a cliffhanger! Yes!**

**So, the next chapter will be written by me, but it will still be posted on this story. In the reviews, tell us who you're most excited to see back!**

**And if you don't want someone back... Hehehe. **

**We really are crazy. **


	2. Mistress Equinox

**We are back with another chapter! **

**This one is by me, with some editing from Scarlett. Just a warning, these ideas may be slightly based off of Pokemon and Transformation fanfics. **

**Also, thank for the lovely reviews! It appears a lot of you are excited for Equinox, so I present...**

Equinox POV

I stood up, panting on a rooftop. I sighed as I looked down at the city metropolis, and the millions of lights. A sudden flash of light from down below blinded me, and I hissed as I covered my eyes. "Damn the light…" I muttered, turning around and looking at the human-sized knapsack that held Josh. He began to stir and groaned as it turned around. That was rather unfortunate … Now I had to knock him out again. I slowly walked over and leaned down. I put my hand on the bag where his hand was, and placed it where his heart would be. The heartbeat was slow, but it was speeding up.

"Crap … he's waking up before I get him to the lair," I muttered.

I kicked him in the head, and he groaned again.

"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE MADE ME DO, JOSH!" I yelled.

I kicked him again, and he groaned even louder and stirred a bit.

"YOU DON'T …"

I kicked him harder than before, once again resulting in a loud groan.

"WAKE UP…"

Once again, I kicked him, this time resulting in him rolling away from me as he moaned in pain.

"UNLESS I TELL YOU TO!" I yelled, walking towards him and punching him where his head should be. This time, he went silent and didn't stir. I grinned as I picked up the brown bag, walking towards the edge once again. Oh how I hated this shining city… it burned me. I winced as my shoulder started to bleed, recent evidence of a battle with a demon hunter I'd encountered on my way here. He hadn't lived very long after that. After all, I had left him with his bloodied bow piercing his chest. I tore myself from my thoughts and looked at a very large green statue of a woman which stood on a island in the middle of a harbor –my destination. That island held a underground lab which I had established 300 years earlier. I smirked, thinking about how ironic it was a nation that honored liberty and freedom would place a statue representing just that above an island that housed a lair. That lair would soon result in someone loosing just that. As I gripped the bag tightly, I quickly jumped from rooftop to rooftop with inhuman speed. Within a few minutes, I had reached the harbor.

..-..-..-.. **  
**

Soon enough, I was on the island's shore. I started to walk around the shore in a counterclockwise direction until I found the large boulder I had been looking for. My grin was clearly visible as I kneeled down and touched a part of the stone. A large red rune appeared, and the rock vanished revealing a large hole. Within seconds, a large wind blowed upwards blasting my face. Turning around, I grabbed the sack that held Josh and carelessly threw it down. I jumped down after him, the winds slowing our descent. Soon enough, I looked up to see the boulder had reappeared leaving us in darkness. I heard a THUNK as the bag hit the floor. Shortly afterwards, my feet touched the ground with a low clunk. I grabbed the bag just as Josh started to squirm. Apparently the fall had woken him up, but I could care less. The dark hallway I was walking down was as clear to day as me, but as I walked torches with black flames slowly started to burn and light up the hallway, illuminating multiple doorways. I finally stopped and stared at the dusty archway, which had an upside-down cross with a snake on it, and walked inside.

..-..-..-..

I very slowly walked towards a table where I had Josh chained by steel shackles. His eyes where wide and he was shaking with fear, the feeling building up with each step I took, holding in my hands a orange glowing Flask marked in latin. Translated to English, it would have read "Enslavement potion".

"Wh- who are you? Where am I?What are you going to do to me?" He finally stammered after a few minutes of me staring at him.

"Oh, you don't remember Joshua?" I said, lacing my voice in a fake sweetness and walking towards him. I uncorked the potion and stood face-to-face with him as my right hand was surrounded in a red flame. When the flame died down, my hand was covered in red scales and my nails were long black talons. I pushed one of my talons into his chin, staring at him coldly as he whimpered.

"Very soon… you'll remember." I said coldy as I removed the talon from his chin, which immediately started to bleed. I put the flask under his bleeding chin, where the liquid inside started to bubble and thoth. I grinned as he stared at me, his face growing pale from the fear. However, I just turned around and walked to a table which was pushed against the gray stone walls of the room. Holding the flask in my scaly hand which was slowly returning to normal, I shifted jars, veils, and notes around trying to find a box. Finally spotting it, I opened it up. There was a black powder inside which sparkled when revealed. Taking a bit of it in between two of my fingers, I dropped it in the flask which started to turn a darker, less glowing shade of orange.

"And Phoenix ashes to ensure that its effects repeat…" I muttered, bringing the potion up to eye level. It looked just about the right consistency. I turned around and stared at Josh, whose pants were now wet. I shrugged it off, glad that he was terrified. I walked up to him and forced his mouth open, making him sob from the sheer terror. I grinned as he was forced to swallow every last ounce of the drink.

Once it had vanished, I stared at the bottle and it started to burn. I dropped it down on the ground as it continued to burn. I snapped my fingers, and Josh's clothes were replaced with black pants,shoes, and a black shirt and vest. Josh's expression started to change before my eyes, from fearfull to recognition to a cocky grin that meant his personality and memories were back.

"Equinox! You shouldn't ha-"He began.

"Shut the hell up, Josh." I said, cutting him off.

"What? Why?"

"Because, soon enough you won't remember anything once again. You'll be my slave, believing that I am your mistress." I replied casually, scraping my nails. It was so boring explaining the concept of magic to mortals. I thought he, at least, would understand potions. I turned my attention back to Josh, who had wide eyes and a once again terrified expression.

"WHAT?!" He shouted in a rage.

Josh POV

"But you can't do that! It's in direct violation of the cont-"

"You think I don't know that, Josh? It's why I couldn't quite simply use my magic on you but instead had to use a potion. I am in absolutely no violation of the contract- I didn't use any harmful magic of my own on you … I used a Phoenix's. I didn't harm you or try to alter your mind in a harmful way… I restored your memories. But now you're loosing them once again as we speak, and believing you're my slave and I am your mistress is just a... side affect. No rules were broken. It's a little something called a loophole." She said. "Didn't Carmella explain that one to you?"

Unfortunately, I knew she was right. I could already feel my mind slipping away. I could remember my childhood memories, my last name, and even more. What was it again? Mehog? Melon? "No, those aren't right…" I thought to myself.

"Damn .. you mistress…" I said. Crap, what had I called Equinox? Mistress? Yes, why wouldn't I? She was my mistress, wasn't she? No, no I mustn't let go.. must …resist…

"Oh, you're already slipping away, are you? Excellent, my minion." She said, grinning.

"I'm... not ... you ... no, I am.. your minion." I said. NO! I wasn't her slave! I wasn't her minion! She was my pawn! The mistress… was .. Not.. my.. pawn

Cackling, she said "Oh Josh, my slave, don't try and fight. I have already gotten away with it."

Then everything went black.

I awoke to see my mistresses grinning face. Odd, why was she grinning? One of her plans must've succeeded.

"Hello mistress. What are your orders?"

**I was really excited to see Josh all helpless. Sweet, sweet karma. **

**In the reviews, tell us what you think Equinox will use Josh for. Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Lying Game

**Sorry for the late chapter, but we had some complications, and yeah. **

If you're interested, check out my Devinart! Link on my page! (Shameless plug in!)

**Now we shall venture into the many feelings of Carmen. Is it bad that I'm obsessed with writing scenes where Carmen feels hopeless?**

Yes.

Why was I so shocked? I knew she was back. I got that note last week. I guess I was just hoping that it wasn't true. I mean, it could have been a prank. The real question was, why did she want Josh? He had amnesia, so he wouldn't give her away. What could she possibly need?

"Carmen," Mitch waved his hand in front of my face. "Are you okay?"

"What?" I snapped back into reality. "Oh, I'm fine."

"You sure? Because you just totally zoned out."

"I'm okay," I assured him. "Just stressed. I'm going to go lay down for a bit."

"I call you when it's time for dinner!" Annette called from the kitchen. I sighed and trudged up the stairs.

I wondered how Josh felt right now. He was all alone, no memory of anything or anyone. How did his family feel right now? He didn't know who they were, and now he was gone. My heart sank as I came to a realization: This was all my fault. Everything was my fault. If I had just let Josh do whatever to me in 8th grade, I'd be fine. Or if I hadn't done that, I should have not written a note and not defied Josh. I also shouldn't have let Mitch save me. If I was smart I would have freed them and ran far away from the building to give them escape time. My safety didn't matter compared to the ten others.

My confidence levels dropped. All of my decisions had caused people to get hurt. Why did everyone think it was their job to save me? No one wanted to risk their life to save Mitch when he fell, did they?

I wanted to be seen as independent, especially with this new problem. That meant I couldn't have any more people swooping in to save the day. Mitch needed to hate me so much that he'd let me go off on my own and finish the job with hesitation. I laid down and moaned. That meant breaking up with the most perfect boy in the world. I closed my eyes and fell asleep, feeling as weak as ever.

"Happy one month anniversary!"  
I bolted upright. Mitch was standing above my bed holding a blueberry muffin, a bouquet of daffodils and a box of chocolate. My eyes widened. "It's been a month?"

He smiled. "And what a lovely month it's been. Don't girls usually obsess over this stuff?"

I jumped out of bed and began to pace nervously. "That means I have to decide, don't I?"

"That is what you said, but no pressure," he added quickly.

I groaned. "I'm not ready. I can't do this yet!"

He set down the presents and put his arms around me. "You have all the time in the world. Just let me know and I'll listen. If you say you never want to see me again, I'd stay away for you. Now, let me give you your gifts. You can at least have those."

Why did he have to make this so hard? I guiltily took the muffin and the chocolates. I set the flowers into a vase and filled it with water. He sat down next to me on the bed. "One more thing for you," he told me. "Close your eyes." I reluctantly shut them. I felt a tingle on my neck as his hands brushed against it. The feeling of cool metal replaced it. "Open."

I looked down and gasped. Around my neck was a beautiful necklace. It was an emerald pendant surrounded by pearls on a thin chain. "Mitch..." I said, not really knowing what to say.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"I..." I stuttered. "I love it."

He smiled. "I was hoping you did. Come on, eat something. You skipped dinner last night." I grabbed the muffin and took a bite.

"I'mbreakingupwithyou," I said while chewing.

"What? I didn't understand you."  
I stared into those chocolate brown eyes and my heart melted. I couldn't say no to him.

"I said I decided to stay with you!" I lied. His face lit up and he embraced me.

"You know, Carmen, you just made me the happiest man on Earth." I didn't respond. I felt the guilt build up in my gut. I knew I had to break up with him, but when?

We walked down the stairs hand-in-hand. All of our luggage was by the door, ready to be packed. My mom walked in and came over to us. "Honey, we need to leave in ten minutes."

I sighed. "I know. Let me just get dressed and pack these pajamas."  
Mitch gave me a quick peck on my cheek as I grabbed my bags and went into the bathroom. I threw on a sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers and came back out. I shoved my clothes into my bag and got ready to leave for the airport.

"Carmen," Mitch shook me awake as we started our descent. I weakly looked up at him.

"What?"

"I've been thinking," he said. "I know you're really stressed right now, but about the whole Josh thing. Aren't kids still going to think you took him?"

I sighed. "I hadn't thought about that."

"We'll always be there for you, but don't let it bother you. If they knew what you've been through they'd shut up." I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed again.

When we got to the school, kids everywhere were pointing and whispering.

"She's Carmella Paige!"

"I wonder where she keeps him."

"All of that abusive crap is just so she seems innocent."

I tried to walk with my head held high. One kid even tried to trip me, but I caught myself. I tried to look like I was ignoring them all, while inside I was wondering where I went wrong in life.

**Poor Carmen! Feeling all alone because she's lying!**

**The jerks at school really don't help. In the reviews, tell us what you would have done if you were her. **

**Seeya later, guys! **


	4. The Necklace

**Le new chapter! I've discovered uploading every day is a bit hard, so I think it will be more bi-daily. **

**I wrote the later parts of this chapter, but Scarlett did the reunion. **

**I abuse my characters often. Sorry Carmen!**

The elevator doors flew open. I stepped outside and gasped. My door was covered in pictures of me crossed out and pictures of Josh. A few kids were standing outside. "There she is!" One if them yelled, and they all started running towards me. I grabbed Mitch's hand and all four of us ran into our apartment, slamming the door behind us.

I turned around and chuckled. Megan and Adam were kissing on a couch. "Get a room!" Jerome called out. They quickly separated and laughed.

"Nice to see you guys, too," Megan said as she stood up. She smoothed out her shirt and ran over to us. Annette and I gave her a huge hug.

"Have the mobs of protesters been bothering you?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Aside from the vandalism and chants at midnight?"

I sighed. "So sorry about that."

"Carmen, lets get away from all of this and go on a date tonight. I'll come here at seven?" Mitch asked. I nodded. "We're going to leave then." The boys walked out, pushing past the group of people who had gathered.

We gradually made our way over to the couch and sat down. "I wonder why no policemen have come to talk to you," Annette said.

"What am I supposed to say? Josh was my boyfriend, but then he drugged me and I tricked him and he kidnapped my friends so we all went to save them but then everyone but me got kidnapped so I tried seducing him and knocking him out but that failed so he chased me and he was just about to stab me when Mitch came and tackled him out the window and Mitch survived but Josh lost his memory because I'd hit him earlier and this demon name Equinox has now kidnapped him? Is that what you want me to say?" I asked.

"Whoa, run-on sentence, missy." Taylor teased.

"Taylor!" Megan said. We went to hug her in the doorway. The people all started yelling insults, but I didn't care. As long as I had my friends I'd be alright.

..-...-..-..

Mitch came at 7, just as planned. I couldn't believe people were still at my door just so they could yell curse words at me. I tried very hard to drone out the choruses of bitch, slut, and whore, but that was all I could hear. My head started spinning, but I felt Mitch tug at my hand and lead me to the elevator. The doors closed and I leaned against them, my hand on my forehead in pain.

"Carmen, are you okay?" Mitch asked. I nodded unenthusiastically. "Listen, how about we skip the dinner and just get some fresh air?"

I straightened up and forced myself to smile. "That would be lovely."

But that wasn't what I was thinking about. I sighed as I walked down the street, holding Mitch's hand. The sky was dark, and the street lamps were on illuminating the sidewalk. A single car whizzed by, and the wind blew my hair back as the cars' headlights lit up our faces. I was lost in my thoughts as we strolled, wondering how I was supposed to keep Mitch safe. How I was supposed to tell him...

"Carmen, look at that!" Mitch said, at a beaten-up building. There was a large sign hanging above a trap, which read Mama's Pizza, and a closed sign on the window.

"Pizza?" I said.

He rolled his eyes. "Can you read? It says 'Anti-Demon Protection Charms'!" I raised my eyebrows. "Let's go check it out!" He dragged me inside.

Surprisingly, the inside was not a pizza shop. There was a old lady rapped up in dirty crimson robes, whose green eyes followed me. In front of her was a table covered in hundreds of small bracelets, necklaces, and charms. After a while of me looking, I started to get bored.

"Let's go!" I said, trying to pull him away.

"Wait, child." Said a old, scratchy and feminine voice from behind us. We both stopped and turned around, looking at her. Those green eyes of hers were suddenly etched with pain, as if she were remembering something. However, she continued to speak.

"Something is troubling you, is it not young one?" She asked me. My mind officially set on talking to her, I marched forward. Mitch came up beside me and wrapped and arm around my waist.

"Yes… how did you know that?"I asked cautiously.

"The queen knows all…" she replied. All traces of skeptism vanished from my mind about this booths authenticy. If she had something that can keep Equinox away… Well that would make this relationship so much easier.

"Ah, you are the target of a demon seeking revenge are you not? Then I recommend this…" She said, reaching into her clock and pulling out a chain with a small, grey, metal…thing…attached to it.

"What is it?" I asked as Mitch eyed it. I broke away from him and stepped closer. The chain started to turn around as she placed it in my hand.

"That is the most powerful thing in my collection… a fragment of a demon's heart." She said in a calm tone, as if she had said she'd just handed me a pebble.

"A demon's heart?" Mitch and I both said as the same time, our eyes widened in shock.

"Yes… for no demon can touch another's heart or the one holding it without burning up." She said, holding my hand and making me clench it in a fist around the charm.

"The demon hunting you is a true demon, yes? Then take this, for it is truly more effective on it than any other demon." Noticing our confused looks, she added "You want to learn more? Then I shall explain it to you. A normal demon, best known as a demon, is a fallen angel who cannot feel love or emotion. A monster demon are monstrous, beast like demons. And a true demon is a demon who is a cross between both – who uses hellish powers, and can shift into a humanoid-beast very well has unbelievable capabilities by any standard. Very excellent examples of these are Satan himself; a demon dragon and demon mix; or the banished black Equinox mask, which is a black draconian hybrid. Conider yourself lucky, young one… for that charm cannot be beaten by none other than the now dead demon who it came from." She said as she stared right into my eyes, and chuckled.

"Go now, child… you need not listen to the ramblings of a old woman."

Something caught Mitch's eyes and they widened. "Carmen. Lets go. NOW." He said, pulling me away.

"What? Why?!" I said as we started to walk back towards the apartment. I looked into his eyes and noticed the courage he had five minutes ago was gone. "I didn't even get to thank her…" I said, tilting my head around to see an empty street, no sign of the building in sight.

"You didn't see it Carmen?" Mitch asked me. "Her hand… it had talons and scales."

..-...-..-..

3rd person POV

Three figures dressed in white cloaks **(anime style) **stood in the middle of a desert, bearing the heat despite the hoods covering their heads, cloaking their faces in shadows. One of them was kneeling over a person wearing identical clothing, with a blue arrow symbol on his back, surrounded by a blue circle. A simple bow was spurting out of his chest, and the area around him was bloodstained. The figure kneeling down waved his hand up and down the body, the hand glowing. He stood up and turned around looking at the other two figures, whom had remained silent the entire time.

"Report, soldier." Said the taller of the others, whom had blue wings on the back of his jacket.

"Hes been dead for a few days now, sir. I can't detect much more that an trace of magic left behind on the bow where the demon most likely grabbed it, and judging by the bloodstains…" He said, pointing towards a indication in the sand where there were shoe prints, a very large section of flattened land, and bloodstains. "He fired of at least one arrows which injured said demon. The bow piercing his chest is the only visable sign of damage, I'd say the demon was in a hurry. I have no idea what or who the demon is for sure, but worst case scenario is it was a vexorian true demon. Best case it was a average demon. But all the clues here indicate that the demon didn't even pay attention to him until it was shot due to it being in a hurry to arrive somewhere. That is all the data I have gathered." He concluded.

"Thank you. Go back the sector's base and inform them their missing trainee is dead."

"Yes sir!" The soldier then began to dash through the dessert before vanishing in a flash of blue light.

"In the mean time… we have a college student cover to get back to,"

**I did a cliffhanger! Yeah!**

**I'm so jealous that you mastered this so fast... It took me about 20 chapters. **

**Anyways, tell us in the reviews who you think is under cover!**


	5. Nightmares, Kidnapping, and Saviors

New characters today! Yay.

**I'm so excited, plus I'm in this chapter!**

_'Now skate, or are you too afraid?' The woman cackled. 'Looks like little miss perfect has a flaw. Faster, girl, skate faster!' I skated as fast as I could, but it was never good enough. The scene morphed._

_'She's Carmella Paige!'_

_'She took Josh!'_

_'Give her a taste of her own medicine!' They sneered. I looked and saw Mitch tied up in a corner, looking helpless and weak._

_"No!" I yelled. "Let him go!"_

_'Regretting taking Josh?' The oldest taunted. 'You can't save him anyways. You're worthless, Carmella Paige. No one likes you. You're just an ugly piece of scum. Mitch should have let you die. Now we have a chance to make that happen.' She pulled out a knife and towered over me._

_"No! Please!" I begged, tears streaming down my face._

_'No-good girl. Why didn't the anorexia kill you? Everyone was happy when you moved. Die, Carmen, die.'_

_"No," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. My head started to spin as the world became colder and blacker..._

I awoke in a cold sweat, my hair plastered to my face. I sighed, which I had picked up a habit of doing. I was so stressed lately it was deadly. I hadn't been able to go a few days without having nightmares of Josh or Equinox. It was always the same one, too.

Shaking violently, I got out of bed. The clock read 2:11, which for some reason was the time it always was when I woke up. I reached for my necklaces and held them close to my heart. The old lady's made me feel protected, but the one Mitch gave me made me feel loved. I tried to ignore the shouts of the girls in my head, but I broke down and started crying.

I needed to break up with Mitch. Every night I saw the image of him bound, and every night I cried a bit harder. Getting him nearly killed last month was already bad enough, I didn't need another near-death experience, or worse. The problem with Mitch was his stubbornness. Much like myself, no wasn't in his vocabulary. I let the streams fall from my eyes.

"Looks like you need my help,"said a voice. Where had I heard it before?

"Scarlett?" I asked curiously, drying the tears with my sleeve.

She materialized in front of me, along with another man. "Carmen's conscious, at your service!"

"Who are you?" I asked.

He took a step forward and bowed. "The name's modeluchosen1, or U, ma'am. Let me say it's an honor to meet you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Okay then... So why are you guys here?"

"We," Scarlett said. "are here to help you with your Mitch problem. We can each give you our advice, and you can choose from there. Now sit, there is lots to be done."

I sat down on my bed, cautiously eyeing the two. Scarlett snapped her fingers and a board appeared. "Here is my plan,"

A picture of Mitch appeared. "Now, you love this boy, do you not? You would do anything to save him. But isn't the easiest way to save him from trouble to keep him out of it? I admire your courage, Carmen, and I think it's time you finally did this yourself. No boyfriends saving your life, just you: the hero. Break up with Mitch and solve your problem. It's much easier to take care of one person compared to two." I nodded and she sat down next to me.

U got up. "Now, my plan. I know that I'd be heartbroken if my girlfriend broke up with me. But if I were Mitch, I'd still go after her. No boy would let a girl get away that easy. Overall, Scarlett's plan will get you a broken heart, but you'll still have a boy trailing after you. My way is that you use Mitch as an advantage. He has proven himself before, and he may have some special qualities you need." He winked.

"My gosh U!" Scarlett burst out. "No foreshadowing when we break the fourth wall! Now I'm going to have to pay ButtSaggington for late night shifts." She started punching numbers into her phone.

He rolled his eyes. "Drama queen. We don't pay ButtSaggington!" I laid down onto my bed and closed my eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting to wake up," I said. "I know Scarlett's crazy, but she's way to lazy to actually put together a presentation and visit me." I slowly drifted off into a sleep filled with dreams of bullies from my high school and torture.

Equinox POV

I sat in my throne, admiring my handiwork. Josh was fanning me and feeding me grapes as I made a plan to get my revenge. This servant thing was the best idea ever. I loved loopholes in contracts.

"So, Josh, here's the plan," I said. "You need to capture a girl for me. She looks like this," I snapped my fingers and a picture appeared midair.

Something changed in his eyes. "Mistress, she looks vaguely familiar. Do I know her?"

I paused. "Uh...no. She just did something very rude to me, so I need my revenge. Can you handle that?" He nodded. "Okay, here's the plan. She lives in California, at this address. Bring her to me, as many injuries as you like but not dying."

"What's her name, Mistress?"

I gulped. Would the name bring back memories? "Her name is... Taylor! Yes, that's it. Find her and bring her to me. Now go," I shooed him off. I really hoped that the name thing wouldn't be important. Then I remembered: She had a friend named Taylor. Crap.

? POV

I sighed as I walked down the dorm halls. So much useless and inaccurate history homework, so little time… I growled as I hit my head against a door in frustration. That damn murder, a guy missing, and a humanoid true demon… too much. And in a few days, it'd be 238 years since…

"Commander, are you still worrying about the missing boy and the dead trainee?" Turning around, I saw a girl with waist length black hair, a white jacket, a black shirt, and pair of black skintight jeans, and white shoes. She stared at me with her brown eyes and grinned reassuringly. "You've faced worse…Graixerniam didn't have you worried this much, and he was a world-threatening crisis! This isn't about…. the anniversary coming up is it?" She asked, walking up to me. I sighed again, staring at her and trying not to glance away.

"No." I replied sternly.

"It is, isn't it?"

"NO IT ISN'T!"

"You can't make a convincing lie when you're upset, can you?" She smirked a little.

"No…"

"That's what I thought" She concluded, grabbing my arm. I sighed as she started to drag me off. She got too into character when she wanted to retain our cover…

"WHY ARE YOU DRAGGING ME OFF?! EVERYONE ELSE IS WAKING UP!" I yelled as we were dragged out into campus grounds. "It's our first day back here too!" I tried to get her to let go of me as we heard loud yelling and insults like "Bitch" and "Slut". I stopped trying to break away and tensed up. Unfortunately, so did she, so she ran in the direction of the noise, tossing me onto the ground. I stood up, dusted off the dirt from my pants, and followed her.

"Care to investigate together?" I asked when I caught up. She nodded and we set off towards the noise.

..-..-..-..

I was surprised at what we saw. A large group of people had surrounded a girl, and she was being pushed around. She had bruises clearly visible on her face, and I wasn't just going to stand there. I took a step forward and clenched my hand into a fist, but a smaller hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Lieutenant, get your hand o-"

"No." She refused. "Don't resort to beating the ever living crap out of them. Tell them off Solstice, no more unless necessary."

I groaned in protest. That'd be so much harder to convince them with words alone… Unclenching my hand, I took a deep breath. Time for me to convince a crowd of most likely drunk asshole football team members….

"Hey you idiots! Stop that!" I said. Almost imeadiatly, all of them stopped what they were doing and looked at me. This caused the girl to fall onto her butt when the once she had been shoved at stepped aside, but that was the least of my problems.

"Why the hell are you doing that to her?! What did she do to you?!" I asked them, and to my shock , all of them started talking and yelling at once.

"She's a bitch!"

"She stole…"

" ..Josh's kidnapper…"

"Liar…"

" She kidnapped Josh as a…."

"SHUT UP!" I yelled, and started walking towards them. "You're accusing her of kidnapping Josh, the guy who went missing? I know for the fact she didn't! She's a pure person, unlike you dicks!" They all stared at me and turned back around to the girl who had just gotten up. I sighed and said " And if you don't leave her alone you'll be beaten up and left in such pain you can't describe it!" A few of them ran away at this, but around a dozen were still there. The largest one stood forward, and said "Oh ya? And we are supposed to believe you w-"

He was cut off as I punched him in his gut. He was sent flying forward when I kicked him, and then another dozen punches and jabs to his stomach. He stood up, nad started to growl.

"Now you're starti-"

I kicked him in the head and knocked him out, cutting him off again. Two of the guys ran forward and grabbed him and started to drag him off, and the rest of them ran. I grinned in satisfaction.

"Thanks." She said as she stood up.

"Welcome. Your Carmen right? I was just doing what was right. I'm Solstice, and this is Jewels."

"That not my name Co- err, Solstice. It's actually Julia, Jewels is just his nickname for me."

"Well, thanks again." She said. We both turned around and started walking, but I suddenly stopped. The aura coming off of her, it wasn't just one aura. There was a pure one, yes, but mixed in was a dark and devious one. Could it be? Had I found her?

**Poor Carmen! I can feel her self-esteem dropping. **

**Thank god Solstice saved her. In the reviews, tell us how you think Josh will kidnap Carmen!**

**I'm quite curious since we haven't decided yet. It's weird when you have the finale planned but have no clue what goes on in between.   
**

**We legit come up with these ideas while PMing late at night. No joke.**


	6. Spying

**Hello faithful viewers! Today we bring you another installment of Equinox's Revenge!**

**Just a note: when the words spes and asha appear, they both mean hope. Enjoy!**

**Lots of magicy stuff today. I bet we all know who wrote that. Magic isn't my strength...**

Solstice POV

I was pacing back and forth. It was impossible…. Equinox was back? It was quite literally impossible. I still carried around a large half of her heart. She couldn't possibly have broken the banishment, even if she did…

"Solstice. Stop worrying. We don't know if she's somehow defied the banishment for real or if it's just that heart fragment's power scattering. We don't know if that was her actual power residue."

Staring at her, I sighed. Those eyes of her's… I can never disagree with her.

"Okay, so what? You suggest we just lay down low and hope a demon that I almost DIDN'T defeat hasn't returned? That my sister-"

"Did you forget?I have a trick or two up my sleeve." She said. She stood up, reached into her jacket, and pulled out a small emerald. Chanting, she turned it around and it started to glow. She stopped turning it, and shortly afterwards stopped chanting. Immediately afterwards, a glowing green map of the school appeared. There were red lines, and certain rooms glowed red.

"See? Nothing but her heart's power residue. Nothing else…. Her room, her current boyfriend's room, Josh's room, a few other rooms, classrooms…."

"But I'd feel safer if-"

"FINE, I'll summon it." She said, putting the emerald back where she had it. She pulled out another emerald that was shaped like an orb. It started to glow and burst into thousands of tiny lights that resembled fireflies.

"But I didn't even start to argue."

"I just gave in before we argued for a hour." She claimed. The lights grew and solidified into a bird shape which flew over our heads before changing into the outline of a fairy. It flew over and into Jewels' hand where its shape changed into a floating wisp that gave off an emerald light. You could almost tell it was rotating, but just slightly. It soon refocused back on Jewels, where it made the best imitation of a bow a wisp could and said:  
"Hello once again M'lady."

"Don't call me M'lady."

"Yes M'lady."

I held in a burst of laughter as the bickering went on. Finally I couldn't contain it and started to laugh, but this just cause them to stop and look at me. Wiping a tear from my eye, I said, "Since when has he called you M'lady?"  
Growling in frustration, she walked over to me with the wisp following her.

"Since you…" She slapped me, leaving my face red. "TOLD HIM TO!" She shouted in my face. Sighing, she turned around leaving me to my sore face.

"Do a full sweep of the campus and surrounding area for any traces of Equinox and her heart's power. Don't come back or report it until you've found all traces possible, how old they are, how much power was released, and see if Equinox herself is actually here."

"Yes,M'lady."

The orb shattered into millions of tiny green orbs that all flew under the door. I grinned in spite of the pain that was numbing my face. Pretty sure it was swelling too...but I was satisfied. If anyone could prove Equinox wasn't here and stop all of my troubles, it would be an emerald wisp… especially one summoned by Jewels. It would be good once it returned with some good news… I hoped.

"Lieutenant… summon your sapphire wisps please?" I asked.

"Um… okay, Commander."

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a square sapphire. She chanted as it floated in mid air.

"Spes and asha

Double hope

The sapphire wisp

Reveal!"

The cube split in half and both of them expanded into glowing blue spheres. Oddly enough, I still can't comprehend how two rectangles turned into spheres… But my attention was on the present.

"Hello Jewels." The two of them said in sweet feminine voices. So much hope…

"Um.. you two remember me r-"

"SHUT THE ****** *** ***** **** Solstice!" They yelled. Oh gods, they still remembered me… and were still pissed.

"Guys. Solstice has a plan involving Equinox. I think… so just listen to him." That was a relief… those two were scary when mad.

"Right… you ladies, I need you to follow a person called Carmen around. I'm pretty sure she's got a fragment of Equinox's heart on her. I don't care if demons can't touch her if she has it, an angel, human, or actual monster may try to steal it and use its power. I just have that gut feeling…. And don't let her see you! DON'T!"

They both nodded, because they both remember when Equinox was free and knew what she was capable of. They vanished in a blue light as they teleported. Jewels looked at me with a look on her face, and she asked the inevitable: "What now?"

Carmen POV

I woke up for the second time that night. I looked at the clock and groaned: 4:00 was way too early. I must have still been used to Eastern time, because it'd be 7:00 back at home. I decided to work on my unfinished homework so I'd be prepared for my first classes of the new year.

I shivered a bit as I got out of bed, realizing how cold the room was. My inner chocoholic beckoned me to go make hot chocolate. I silently tiptoed to the kitchen, trying not to wake anyone. "You still on New Jersey time?" said a voice. I jumped, looking around for the person. "Relax, it's just me." A light turned on and I saw Annette drinking coffee.

"Oh, hey Annette," I said as I gathered my supplies. "Sorry, I got a little scared."

"Carmen, what's wrong with you? You are normally scared of nothing."

I shrugged. "I can be scared sometimes. Like in 8th grade, when-"

"That's different." She interrupted. "It seems like you're the opposite of yourself. Are you under a potion again?"

I laughed a little. "No, Annette, my magic days are over. If you must know, I'm a bit stressed lately." I said as I sat down and took a sip. "I've been having these dreams."

She leaned in closer. "Tell Dr. Annette all about it."

I sighed. "Every night, I hear this woman telling me to ice skate. I try, but as you know, I can't ice skate to save my life."

"Go on," She started to write down notes.

"And then, a bunch of girls start towering over me. They call me a slut and tell me that I should get a taste of my own medicine. Then I see Mitch tied up and being abused. I start to freak out, but then they tell me that him suffering is all my fault. They tell me that the- the anorexia, it should have killed me."

She looked at me with pity. "Is that it?"

I shook my head. "It usually goes on to have football players beat me up, like they did before."

She gasped. "That's where those bruises came from!"

I nodded. "Last night, though, I got woken up early. Scarlett and U were there."

She frowned. "Who are they?"

"Um... That's not important. Anyways, they kept telling me what to do about Mitch. Scarlett told me I should break up with him, but U thinks it's useless and that he could be helpful."

She set down the notepad. "I have reached a conclusion. Carmen, you have serious issues."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Annette, I didn't know that."

She got up. "I'll be right back."

I sat there sipping my drink. She was right, I suppose I do have issues. For the millionth time in a while, I asked myself a question: Why me? I was always a good person, and I didn't think I did anything to deserve this. So why was I the one chosen to suffer? It was absolutely not because I was string enough to handle it.

I heard a door open and muffled voices in the hall. "I just need you to explain to her that- Hi, Carmen!" Annette greeted me as she dragged Mitch and Jerome through the doorway. "Eastern time?" I asked. They nodded.

She plopped them down on the couch. "Carmen, tell them what you just told me."

My eyes widened. "No. Absolutely not."

She pulled me over to where they were. "Listen, hon, they can help you with your problems. Go ahead."

I glared. "May I speak to you alone for a minute?" I brought her to a corner. "Do you even get the point of that dream?" I whispered.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Annette, I'm facing a whole lot right now. I'm also currently debating whether I should dump Mitch or not because he could get hurt. So what do you think will happen when I tell him I might dump him? He'll insist he's fine and that I need him."

"Isn't that what the guy you made up said to do?"

"He's not made up. And yes, he did, but I'm not sure if it's the right choice."

We walked back over. "I'm very sorry Annette brought you over here so early. It was a false alarm, I don't have any issues right now. You can go back to your apartments." I told them.

Jerome didn't seem to be paying attention. "Where are those bruises from?"

"Oh, nowhere." I said quickly. "Would you like any chocolate?"

Mitch got up. "Carmen, answer Jerome."

"I smell my chocolate burning! I'll go fix that," Mitch grabbed my arm. "Let go! Don't you care about fire safety?"

"We all do, but you need to tell us." Jerome said calmly. I shook my head.

"She got beat up by football players!" Annette blurted out. I shot her a look.

"What happened to patient-therapist confidentiality?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure it's a thing."

"Tell us about this." Mitch ordered.

I sighed. "Well, I-" I stopped short. "Guys?"

"What?" asked Annette.

"Does anyone else see the glowing ball of light?"

**For the first time in my life, I have nothing to say. What about you, U? (That's so fun to say!)**

**Leave a review telling us if you think Carmen should dump Mitch or not. **


	7. The Voices Don't Think I'm Crazy

**We're back with another chapter!**

**I personally think this one's hilarious, hope you enjoy!**

I blinked twice. The orb was still there. I looked around and saw that the others' faces were just like mine: a mixture of confusion and shock.

Jerome broke the silence. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Annette said curiously. "It looks like-"

"Magic." I finished.

I heard footsteps and turned to see Megan and Taylor. "Hey guys, why are-" she started.

"What's that?" Megan asked in awe.

Mitch shrugged. "No idea." Taylor bravely took a step closer. "I wouldn't go near that."

A million thoughts crossed my mind. Was this a weapon? Were the crazy protesters even smarter than I thought? Or worse, was this the work of Equinox?

"I don't think so," Mitch assured me when I voiced my opinions. "The protesters wouldn't send a useless orb at you, and I'm pretty sure Equinox prefers a direct approach."

I sighed. "Good points, but still-" A knock on the door interrupted me. No one else went to get it, so reluctantly walked over.

A police officer stood waiting outside. "Hello, officer! How may I help you?" I asked sweetly.

He smiled. "I'm very sorry to bug you at this hour, but does a Carmella Paige live here?"

I smiled back. "That would be me. What can I do for you?"

"As you probably know, you're a suspect in the Josh Mahoney case. I need to take you to the station and question you."

I nodded. "May I get in regular clothes first?"

"Go ahead, I'll wait right here."

I ran off to change. My head buzzed with thoughts. Did I tell him the truth? He'd probably think that I was insane.

"The truth is important," said U in the back of my mind.

"No way! Do you want her to look crazy? Tell part of the truth, but not the crazy parts. It's not technically lying." Scarlett countered.

"Shut up!" I told them. "I'm really starting to see who the angel and devil is. Does this mean I should stay with Mitch, too?"

"No!" Scarlett said.

"Absolutely." U answered. I rolled my eyes.

"While you two fight, I'm going to go get interrogated. Tell me if you come up with any fabulous ideas."

I rushed back into the room. "Guys, I'm going to the police station to be questioned. I have my phone, call me if you do anything dumb." I walked out to meet the officer and drove to the station.

I found out that his name was Officer Jones. He told me to "just call him Bill," which was his first name. We walked to the room and I sat down. "Okay, Carmella, I'm going to strap you up to this lie detector machine."

"Feel free to call me Carmen," I told him as he set me up. He finished and took a seat across from me.

"Alright. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions and you just have to answer them honestly. I don't have any warrant to arrest you, so you're in no immediate danger." I nodded and he cleared his throat. "Are you, in fact, Carmella Paige?"

"Yes."

"Do you know of Josh Mahoney?"

"Yes."

"What are your relations with him?"

I sighed. "Bill, do you want me to just give you the whole story?"

He nodded. "That would save some time."

I took a deep breath. "I know I'm going to sound crazy, but..." I told him everything, right down to the very last detail. When I finished, he looked at me worriedly.

"You expect me to believe that Josh has been after you since 8th grade, drugged you with a potion, knocked you into a coma, kidnapped your friends, fell out a window and nearly killed your current boyfriend, and is now kidnapped by a demon?"

I clasped my hands together. "That pretty much sums it up."

He smiled with a weird look in his eyes. "Okay, Carmen, I have a special place for you. Let's go."

"Okay..." I said cautiously. I didn't like the tone of his voice. We walked for a while until we reached our destination. I looked at the sign and frowned. "An insane asylum? Haven't you heard weirder stories before?"

"No, hon, this is a place where you can meet nice people and-"

"Don't sugar coat it," I snapped. "How do I get out of these things?" He shrugged. I sighed and walked in.

"Welcome, new member!" said an overly cheery woman. "My name's Poppy, and you must be..." She scanned her page. "Carmella?"

"It's Carmen." I corrected.

"Alright, Carmella, let's show you to your room." She ignored me.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks a lot, Bill." I said before walking off.

She brought me to a room covered in foam. Did she really think I was going to try and hurt myself? I noticed a small bed pushed up against a wall and a toilet in the middle. "Excuse me," I said, a plan formulating in my head. "May I have some privacy to use the toilet?"

"Of course!" she chirped. "I'll be right back, Carmella,"

I gritted my teeth until she left. "It's Carmen, you airhead." I said aloud. I quickly pulled out my cell phone and called Annette.

"What do you want?" she answered.

"Listen, Annette, the police officer thought I was crazy and put me in an insane asylum! You need to come break me out."

I could practically hear her grinning. "I always knew you were crazy."

I glared at the empty space. "Not the point! Come get me before I actually go insane!"

"Well..." she said. "I have classes, and I don't get a break until three..."

"Annette," I warned.

"So I can probably get you around fiveish?"

"Annette, don't do this," I groaned.

"Have fun! Bye!" she said.

"Annette!" I yelled. "I am going to kill-" The line went dead. I slid down the wall and sighed. This was going to be a long, long day.

**Before I get into authors note stuff, I want to address something. I'm a little bit sad because in New Feelings, I'd usually get 8-9 reviews before posting a chapter. Now it's more like 2-3. I'm just asking, could you guys please review for me? I do have it set up so that guests can also review It's just a bit frustrating when I have almost 1000 views and only 22 comments when want one can review. Thanks guys, I truly want your support. ~Scarlett**

**Now that she's done being sentimental... Tell us in the reviews who you want to see more of! Any old characters, supporting characters who aren't focused on as much.. etc. And yes, BaccaKit, we're working on bringing Blaze back. **

**I bet I just read your mind. ;)**


	8. Walls Are Meant To Be Broken

**I break some rules in this chapter. Don't tell Scarlett! Shh...**

Carmen POV

This was so frustrating… how long had I been in here? Hours now? "Annette… I'm going to kill you." I muttered. Almost as if on cue, my phone in my pocket started to ring. I pulled it out, and the number read UUU-UUU-UUUU. Weirdest number ever… And caller ID read "U". It wasn't possibly…

"Hello?" I asked cautiously.

"Heeeeeey Carmen I'm not going to waste any time here, but Annette is in detention due to unknown reasons. She can't tell anyone else about you being in there for several hours, the phone ringing when it did WAS actually on cue, and I'm going to rescue you myself!"

I heard a loud explosion through both the phone and where the entrance to the asylum walls was. The padded room shook, and I heard yelling. It was a bit muffled, but it sounded like "STOP HIM!" and "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Oh and don't mind the loud explosions. I'm just feeling violent today! Don't tell Scarlett I'm doing this, she's watching Iron Man 3**(I loved it!)**… But ya!" This was followed by a muffled shout of "Stop shooting me! I'm not ticklish!" and another loud explosion.

"Goodbye, and cya in a minute! LEROOOOOY J-"

He hung up,leaving me with one thought: That was really weird. I started to wonder what on earth he might be doing, but explosions and gunfire constantly broke my train of thought. Finally, I heard footsteps outside my door, and a loud explosion nearly deafened me. I shielded my eyes, and I saw U standing there with multiple rips and tears in his jacket. His blue eyes practically screamed "I NEED TO BE LOCEKD UP!"

"Aren't you supposed to not be doing this?"

"I do as I-" He was cut off by a gunshot. My eyes were wide, but he was just standing there as if nothing had happened. I heard a clank, and I saw a metal bullet hit the ground. I looked behind him, and saw the stupid nurse from earlier, pointing her gun at him. He just snapped his fingers, and she ran screaming as her clothes were replaced by air. Except for her private, which had a black line taped over them.

"Now then! Let's see… written down nearly everything I was repeatedly envisioning during math? Check…. Next asylum phase? Time to do it…" He muttered under his breath. Turning to me, there was suddenly a calming look in his eyes. "Carmen, listen very closely. The demon called Equinox is almost free of all her shackles, and thrown off her banishment. You have but a few days until she arrives early… the deadline. But on to more pressing matters: Your friends. For now, everybody is temporarily safe. Everyone except Taylor. You only have 5 minutes after Blaze returns **(AN –to the audience- HEAR THAT, BACCAKIT? BRINGING HIM BACK IN A MINUTE!)** Untill she gets… um… NO SPOILERS!" He finished, staring at me. Turning to the wall, he snapped his fingers and it vanished leaving nothing but the obscurred figure of the rest of the city. He snapped it again, and a orange portal appeared.

"Didn't Scarlett tell you to stop breaking the fourth wall?" I asked.

He smiled. "This is the fifth wall. Loopholes, people!" He snapped his fingers one last time, and Blaze appeared. He looked around with shock on his face, at both me and U. After a few minutes of explaining, we turned to the portal.

"One last thing again…" He started, but I had already jumped through. Blaze followed me, and I heard a very garbled warning:  
"Its 5:58…You only have…. 2 minutes left… save Taylor."

Taylor POV

I was peering around the corner, into the kitchen where that blue orb still floated. I was worried about what had happened to Carmen… she had been at the police station for the entire day so far. But someone had to watch that… thing. It was floating around the room, and looked like it was searching for something. Or more likely, knowing our luck, someone. Like Carmen. It was making a weird noise earlier, actually, like it was snoring… I immediately peeked my head back and out of site when it looked like its focus was on me.

"You can come out… I know you're there. Now, I know now" The orb said in a feminine voice. It was far too sweet, but… it knew I was here. I stepped into the living room, and asked the obvious question.

"What are you, who are you, and what are you doing?"

"Well… I'm not supposed to show myself but…"

"SHOW YOURSELF?! You were floating above the kitchen and freaking out about a dozen people!" I shouted.

"CURSE SLEEP WALKING!"

"You mean floating."

"Doesn't matter. Let's answer your questions. I'm a sapphire wisp and my name is Asha. My twin Spes is following that Carmen girl, and I'm here to watch out for her friends.. that includes you, by the orders of the commander of the demon slayer, whom my master told me to listen to."

Well, that was… a shocker, to put it lightly. Looking at the kitchen clock, it read 6:00. I wondered where everyone was. I turned back to the orb, who had shrunken and started whimpering. It was roating around.

"What's wrong?" I was concerned.

"Demons… demon magic…" She hissed.

"SOLSTICE!" She shouted and vanished in a flash of blue light. Demon magic?

"It couldn't possibly be Equinox-" I was cut off when a guy punched me in the face. Looking up in a daze, I couldn't have possibly been more shocked.

"JOSH?!"

He sneered and said "The mistress wants you." He pulled out a blowgun and placed a dart in it and shot me. I tried to dodge it, but it hit my elbow.

"Was that supposed to do-"

I stopped in shock when stone started to cover my body. Within seconds, everything except my head was covered in stone. I looked like a statue.

"The mistress will be pleased!" He grinned, staring at me. Then the stone covered my eyes and I lost consciousness.

Slave Josh POV

I grinned as I picked up the Taylor statue, the terrified look still on her would please the mistress! Took me an hour or two of spying, but I found her. Odd, though… that picture had shown her differently. She must've changed her looks to try and avoid the mistress. I just pulled out a small stone and threw it on the ground at my feet. It shattered and me and the statue were surrounded by darkness as we teleported out of there.

**Well, I'm pleased! Quite a shocking chapter, eh? I'm just glad Scarlett doesn't know I broke the FIFTH wall… ButtSaggington is going to be working for the next hour.**

**You did what now? U... I'm going to kill you.**

**...I know. Tell us in the reviews how you think Equinox will react to seeing Taylor!**


	9. Complications and Behind the Scenes

**So since I killed U, this story is now written by me! ...Just kidding. I only mildly injured. **

**There was a lot of yelling...**

I pressed end and put away my phone. A huge smile spread across my face as I held in my laughter. All those jokes about Carmen going insane were true! I couldn't help but feel satisfied for predicting the future.

That joy soon left as realization hit me. My friend was in an insane asylum. Assuming she told the truth, the police thought the last few months of her life was a lie. I wondered what I'd have to do to get her out of there. I'm not her legal guardian or anything, so would I have to get her mom? Would I have to explain to her mom? More importantly, when would I get normal friends?

"Let's get to class," Jerome ushered me out the door. "Who was that?"

"Carmen's in an insane asylum," I told him.

"What?" He asked in shock.

"She said that the police officer thought she was crazy so he put her there." I explained.

"You know, I always thought she was a bit crazy..."

"Oh, stop it." I playfully punched his arm. "We really shouldn't be making fun of her. With all of this stuff going on, she's bound to crack at some point. We probably don't want to be the reason she actually goes insane."

He nodded. "So, when're you going to pick her up?"

I sighed. "I don't know. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's not as simple as walking in and getting her."

"You're probably right. We can think about it later, though."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you sure she'll be okay?"

He laughed. "Carmen has been through so much that I'm sure she'll like the break. She's strong enough to withstand whatever they do."

I smiled, reassurance filling me. "Let's go." I grabbed his warm hand and we walked to our first class.

As soon as the last class before lunch ended, I rushed back to our apartment. I was just about to open the car door when a hand grabbed me. "Where are you going?"

I spun around to face Jerome. "To get Carmen, why?"

"You can't go alone! Here, I'll come with you."

I smiled. "Fine, but I could have done it myself."

"Sure." He said sarcastically as he got in the passenger's seat. I slid into the driver's seat and started my car.

As we drove, Jerome and I talked a lot about Carmen. "I hope she's okay," I said.

Jerome sighed. "I'm really afraid that officer was right. I mean, think about it. How crazy has her life been? And now, with the demon after her and the protesters... It's just really sad."

"What's sad?" I asked.

"Watching your best friend go crazy."

I gulped a bit. "I'm more afraid she's going to hurt herself. Did I ever tell you about the anorexia she had?"

Jerome stared at me. "She had anorexia?"

I nodded. "Mitch didn't know, either. I'm not surprised she didn't tell you. After, you know, the incident, she got really depressed and developed anorexia. Her mom moved her to New York to get her away from all the stuff in New Jersey. No one at school really liked her, so I became her closest friend. I helped her through the anorexia, but it was really scary because she almost committed suicide."

Jerome stared out the dashboard. "I'm a terrible friend. I never knew... And yet, she's still so brave. How does she do it?"

I shrugged. "She's an amazing girl, Jerome, with lots of perseverance. That's why she's still alive after all this."

We reached our destination. I got out of the car and we walked inside. A lady named Poppy was sitting at the front desk. "May I help you?" She asked in a cheery voice. Poor Carmen, she must hate this.

"Do you have a patient named Carmen Paige?" I asked.

She looked through the files. "No, but we do have one named Carmella Paige. Is that who you're looking for?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Yes," Jerome answered for me. "How would we go about taking her out of here?"

She annoyingly smacked on her gum. "Well, sweetie, she can't be taken out until tests are done since a police officer brought her."

I raised my eyebrows. "There's really no way?"

"None."

Jerome smiled. "Maybe George Washington would help you..." He laid ten dollar bills on the countertop.

She looked at the money and then us. Finally deciding, she pocketed the money and stood up. "I'm very sorry, but rules are rules! Run along now."

"Can I have my money back?" Jerome yelled as I pulled him out of the building.

I sat down and sighed. "That helped. What do we do now?"

Jerome's eyes widened. "We only have five minutes until class."

I gasped. "What? It's a ten minute drive!" I slammed my foot on the accelerator and sped onto the highway. "We have Ms. Crunk next, and she's mean!"

"Hold on," Jerome said calmly. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"We get expelled."

"Can't this car go any faster?" He yelled in a panic. I rolled my eyes again and sped up.

We burst in the classroom doors three minutes late. All heads turned to us.

"Why are you late?" A stern voice yelled. I saw Ms. Crunk staring at us.

"Um..." I stuttered. 'Saving someone from an insane asylum' probably wouldn't sound realistic.

"No answer?" She barked. "Since you are three minutes late, you'll stay three hours after class!"

"But-" Jerome protested.

"Four! Every word you say is an extra hour! Care to add anything else?" We both fell silent. "Good! Now SIT DOWN!"

I rushed to my seat and plopped down. Carmen would have to wait.

**To make up for the short chapter, here's a behind the scenes look: our PMs!**

PM:

**Okay, posted new chapter. Yay :)**

**For the next chapter, let's... *something magic related***

**Oh, and we need to *something girly, romantic, or dramatic***

**Got it. Lets get to work on that. *2 hours later* Done yet?**

**...I may have accidentally deleted the chapter... Going to rewrite it. **

***Lots of hours later* Finished? And this is our one millionth PM.(not even joking we have three hundred now)**

**I'm a professional crastinator don't judge me!**

**Its like ten o'clock at night, we aren't going to post today. **

**Crap. **

END PM

**Now you know what we go through each day to bring you this! I'm sorry if it was boring, I felt bad for the short chapter! Don't. Judge. Me. **

**In the reviews, tell us about the most crazy teacher you've ever had!**

**Mine tried to expel me for no good reason, and made kids cry in the process...**

**On that note, see you guys later!**


	10. Confusion and Statues

**Very long chapter today. Lets not talk, but get right to it!**

Solstice POV

How long had it been now? A day or two? I clicked a link on the computer, and a picture that showed the silhouette of a winged and flying person popped up. Beneath it was a speech. It was legitimate. And it was probably a careless angel demon hunter of mine…. Right clicking the link, a large red option at the top was labeled "DELETE THIS PAGE AND ALL THINGS THAT HAVE THIS PICTURE" I clicked it, and the computer hummed. Swiveling around, I looked at Jewels, who was sitting in a chair five feet behind me made from purple energy as she read her pocket- sized book.

"How long is it going to take for Relamreas to finish his sweep? It's been what, two days now?"

"Patience, Solstice." She said as she stood up. Putting her book in her pocket, the chair folded up into a amethyst cube, which she picked up. "Due to what YOU ordered, he's probably walking halfway across the country back to New Jersey, or just lost in some underground sewer." That was a valid point. I sighed with frustration. If it was taking that wisp so long, who knew what results he would find?

"Well, at least Spes and Asha haven't come screaming for help."

"SOLSTICE!" Yelled Asha as she popped up in between me and Jewels.

"I jinxed my-"

"SOOOOOOLSTIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!" Screamed Spes as she popped up right next to Asha, and she immediately launched into a rant.

"Carmen was locked up in an insane asylum by a cop who called her crazy because she told him about some type of magic crap and Josh abusing her, so I followed her, and there were explosions because U showed up and saved her, and he made some person pop up called Blaze, and…" She paused, gasping for whatever a wisp breathes before continuing. "She jumped through a portal and she got a warning about howherfriendcalledTaylorisgoingtobehurtat six!" She finished as she apparently forgot to pause in between words. Asha was shrunken in fear, and if Spes had eyes, they would be wide.

"U appeared, and gave a warning? My least favorite god and least favorite former mentor…" I muttered, staring at her. I looked at the computer screen, where the clock read 6:01.

"Well shit…" I said, while Jewels had walked over to Spes and tried to calm her down. I looked at Asha, who was now flying around and bouncing off walls in panic.

"SOLSTICE! There were demons! I sensed demon magic! In Carmen's dorm!" She screamed in my ear. UH-oh. Not good. Not good in the slightest. "And I was explaining everything to –"

"YOU WHAT?!" I roared, outraged that she had been seen. Calming myself down, realizing I had only made her more terrified, I said: "What else were you saying?" "The girl's name was Taylor, and she was in Carmen's room, and oh dear lord demons…. At six! AND THE POWER REAKED OF EQUINOX!"

Oh crap. Not good, not good, not good… I started to pace the room, as Jewels tried to calm them down. But she wasn't being very convincing, because her face was pale and her eyes wide. My face probably looked the same. We had to do something.

"Jewels, get the stellla laminam gemma **(a star jeweled blade) **ready. We're going to go save that girl from Equinox, or whatever demon may be there."

..-..-..-..

Gripping my white sword hilt, I was tensed against the wall which was creaked open. I heard voices, and it sounded like arguing. Maybe the victim was arguing with the demon? I looked at Jewels, who was holding a sword with a multicolored star shaped hilt and a steel blade, and she nodded. I clenched the sword hilt with both my hands, and it elongated into a large blue energy broadsword. I kicked open the door and ran in, prepared to kill a demon or fight Equinox. I was shocked, however, to see Carmen and a bunch of other people who I realized were her friends. Well crap, we had some explaining to do…

..-..-..-..

At the stroke of three I jumped out of my seat and ran outside. Adam followed close behind me. "Ms. Crunk is so strict!" He yelled.

"I know, right?" I said as I slowed to a stop. He jogged behind me and put his hands on his knees.

"Gosh, you're fast." He said.

I smirked. "Thanks."

"For a girl, anyways."

I turned to him. "Excuse me?"

His eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like-" I pushed him over. "Ow!"

"How's that for a girl?" I asked.

He got up and dusted himself off. "Fine, fine, you win. We should go check on Taylor now."

I agreed and we walked to our apartment. I loved how rarely it snowed here, because that meant warm weather all year long. It was currently 60 degrees. I laughed at how the people who lived here considered that cold. Try -20 degrees, people!

I said hello to the lady at the front desk. After getting in the elevator, I realized I didn't know her name. She was the one who set me up with my friends and boyfriend. I made a mental note to ask her. The doors opened and my thoughts switched to relieving Taylor.

"Hey, Tay!" I said as we opened the door. She sat on the couch, staring at the orb. "How's the UFO doing?"

She sighed. "It's just sitting here, staring at me. Where is everyone else?"

"Carmen's still with the police, Annette and Jerome are in detention, and where are the other two?"

"I think Mitch and Jason decided to go to a party, but I stayed with my lovely girlfriend." I saw the disappointment on Adam's face as he spoke.

"Relax. Last time we went to a party, we nearly died. Remember?" I reminded.

"I guess you're right," he grumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "Drama queen. Anyways, you can go meet up with the boys and we'll watch the orb now."

"No!" Taylor said. "I'm perfectly capable of watching this thing."

Adam raised his eyebrows. "You've been sitting here for seven hours. Take a break."

As soon as she crossed her arms I knew there was no way to win. She was nearly as stubborn as Carmen. I guess everyone in our room picked it up from Carmen, because Annette and I had that trait too. "Fine. Be that way," I said. "Call us when you're ready to take a break."

She nodded. "Don't expect any calls. I can do this."

She was so weird sometimes. "Adam, let's go to that party."

His face lit up. "Really?"

I smiled. "C'mon." We walked back outside and left Taylor alone. Big mistake.

Carmen POV

I fell onto my chest, my cheek scraping the pavement. "Look at her, at our feet where she belongs!" A voice called out. I felt paper balls hit me and I cringed. In a minute the throwing and insults seized and I got to my feet.

"Stupid protesters..." I mumbled.

Blaze looked confused. "You know, I'm not even going to ask what that was about. So what do we do now?"

I shrugged. "Didn't he say something about Taylor?"

Blaze looked at his watch. "One minute left."

My eyes widened. "Run!"

We sprinted with all our might to the room, but it was too late. I opened the door and saw remnants of a rock. One of our vases was shattered onto the floor. The window was also wide open. "Why?" I asked no one in particular.

"What?" Asked Blaze.

"Why does she want Taylor?"

He shrugged. "No idea. Listen, I'll call Taylor, you call everyone else."

I nodded and took out my phone. I dialed Mitch's number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Mitch, I need you to listen to me. I just broke out of an insane asylum, and there was a lot of explosions. Taylor was kidnapped by who knows what, and the orb is gone. Where is everyone else?"

"You broke out of an insane asylum?" He sounded impressed.

"Yeah yeah, I had some help. Now answer the question!"

"Right. Jason, Adam, and Megan are with me. Annette and Jerome got detention."

I sighed. "Could the four of you come here now please?"

"Be there in ten." I hung up and turned to Blaze.

"No progress." He said sadly. I sat down on the couch.

"Yet again, I've gotten someone hurt. Good job, Carmen." I scolded.

"It's not your fault." He said.

"Why does everyone say that?" I asked. "Can't I be responsible for my own actions?"

"Carmen-"

"I need a minute." I got up and began walking to my room. "I'll be out when they get here."

He sighed and let me go.

..-..-..-..

Solstice POV

Jewels was explaining to them what was going on: About how we were here to find and kill demons. She wasn't explaining the total truth, but… I was investigating a piece of shattered red stone. It was surely a teleportation stone, but I couldn't trace it. Damn it… whoever had done this was smart enough to know someone magical would eventually investigate this. They used a one time stone linked to another one time stone which teleported randomly and broke the instant the teleported people arrived… breaking any chance of tracking them. Even if I did find them, it'd probably just be a broken stone on a hill or in a cave.. It wasn't looking good, but I could recognize this magic. It was incredibly basic, but it wasn't any alive demons. That just threw me off even more… Cerbarium had been dead longer than Equinox had been banished. I pocketed the fragment I was investigating and walked over to a blood stain. It was tiny, but might give me some clue. There was a dart next to the blood stain, and the tip was covered in a grey dust. Was it? I picked it up and sniffed it. My eyes widened in shock. I suddenly noticed how quiet it had become. Turning back, I saw that everyone else, including Jewels, had been watching me.

"Jewels… this dart has gorgenite powder covering it." She gasped and her eyes widened.

"Gorgen –what powder?" Asked one of the guys. What was his name? Jason? Ya, that was it.

"It… basically… covers the person and their insides in stone, making them look like they're statues. They may retain consciousness, but… often they're trapped in their worst nightmares, but more likely unconscious. The person who made the powder can remove and re-cover the person in stone at will. And… it can control a person's body movements."

Equinox POV

I growled as Josh teleported in. He was carrying a statue, meaning yes, he had kidnapped someone… but… It was Taylor, that girl who had seen me materialize a few months ago. The look of terror on her stone face was priceless however… Luckily, I had planned for this when I had told him Taylor was Carmella's name. "You are dismissed, slave."

"Yes mistress." He said, bowing at my feet for a minute before I started tapping my fingers on the throne.

"I said you're dismissed."

He left the room, and I stared at the statue. It was laying on the floor, frozen in a moment in which it looked like she was dodging the dart. That look of terror… I'd enjoy feeding off her fear. I snapped my fingers, and her body from the waist up turned back to flesh. As she gasped for air, she looked around before her terrified gaze arrived at me.

"E-equinox." She stammered out of fear. "Where the he-"

"SHUT UP. Don't dare mention that place around me. Nether the less, welcome to the rest of you life as… well, that depends on how much you cooperate."

"I'll never agree to what you say." She spat at me. I grinned.. gotta love spite.

"Well… that rules out one option. Be my cooperative little maid. I even had a French maids dress! That leaves two other options: Become a permanent statue in my hall, for I do have to start rebuilding my collection. And the second option… I lock you up, because I have further use for you… and I can still enslave you mentally later!" I grinned at the look of terror on her face. Clearly she had put two and two together and relized that was what I had done to Josh. But the statue part was just a bluff. For now.

"So! I'm going to lock you up now, so just shut up!"

I snapped my fingers, and her arms forcibly went up in a diagonal direction before turning to stone.

"Hey! How did you ju-"

I snapped my fingers again and her mouth was covered in stone. Her face was that of pure terror now.

"Take her away."

The doors opened up, and two winged and horned humanoid demons in black cleric robes came in carrying chains. The attached them to her wrist and ankles, which were still covered in stone, and carried her away. I'd make that damn Carmen girl suffer…through her friends.

**In the reviews, let us know how you think Carmen will react to all of this. **

**Bye!**


	11. Despair

**We are back with another chapter! This one was all me. **

**Yeah, I had a huge migraine... Thank U for actually writing this for me. **

**Lots of snapping in this chapter today. Enjoy!**

Equinox POV

"It… isn't.. GOOD ENOUGH!" I roared as I sliced through the demon who had presented the sword to me. I pulled it out, and he just rubbed his shoulder in pain. I growled. This weapon was USELESS! I needed a good weapon, one that could retrieve what I needed… from my damned brother.

"Why did you bring this useless thing to me?" I shrieked, holding up the plain iron sword that was totally unadorned. Nothing to mark it as a demon's weapon, much less a good one. "You expect me to kill my brother with such a pathetic thing? This couldn't kill YOU! What makes you think…" I hissed, throwing the sword on the ground as it started to melt and change shape. "It is capable of killing an angel, if I can't even kill YOU with it! It's pathetic, and this mortal weapon WAS covered in rust!" I said, indicating to the weapon which was reshaping itself into chains and a collar. Picking it up, I threw it at him and it latched around his throat. He choked for a second before it magically readjusted itself around its neck.

"You... aren't reall-" He choked as the chain was pulled upwards into the shadows, where he started screaming before whimpering.

"DON'T KILL HIM THIS TIME!" I shouted, and turn back to my throne where I sat awaiting somebody to appear. Almost the second I sat down, the doors burst open and in came a tall demon with pale skin, black raggedy hair, canine ears on the sides of his head, red eyes, a black leather jacket, a red shirt and red pants, and bare feet that were covered in a black fur with large yellowed claws. He grinned with a toothy smile that revealed all his teeth were sharpened into fangs and dagger-like points. In a loud, booming voice that sounded more like a bark he said, "Hello, my queen! I have returned with your MUCH requested item!" He said, holding out the lower half of a grey sword hilt. My eyes widened in unbelieving shock; He had actually found it?

"Well, Cerbarium? Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to give it to me?" I snarled at him. I had been in far too bad of a mood since that Taylor girl had been locked up. I had unsealed her lips three times so physics could try and brainwash her, but none had succeed. Damned powder was interfering too much. Telekinesis was overrated anyway. He walked up to me, put it at my feet, bowed, and walked out of the room as he argued with himself.

"We should have kept it for ourselves!"

"NO! That would be…"

This bickering seized when I had the doors slam shut. I turned down to look at the fragment of my heart, and pulled out a large, torn, ragged bundle. Unwrapping it, I took out my mask and grinned. Maybe I would succeed in using that girl in my revenge against Carmella Paige… I did need the tortured blood and souls of those I hate and who also hated me, so it could defiantly wait a few minutes. Putting it to the side of my throne, I pulled out some shattered gray fragments of my sword. They started to glow red, as did the larger part, and floated together. I was blinded by a flash of red light. When it cleared, I grinned as I saw the sword nearly restored. Only the bottom half and one fragment from the center of the blade. I already felt a massive surge of power… soon… very soon… I started to laugh maniacally.

..-..-..-..

I walked past dozens of empty, dusty, and cobweb-covered jail cells and skeletons until I came to one illuminated by torchlight. Inside was Taylor, and I smirked as I saw her eyes were fearful and yet still had fight in them despite the hours of torture I'd inflicted to her. I snapped my fingers, and her mouth was uncovered by stone. She immediately barfed into a bucket which had been placed there two or so hours ago. She glared at me with hate, despite the clear fear she was showing on her face.

"So you still don't want to cooperate?" I asked her, fully knowing her answer would be no.

She chose to be a bit more spiteful, and spat at me as she said, "Never, you fucking crazy lunatic."

"Now, now…" I purred, getting ready to enjoy what I was about to do. I reached into my jacket's pocket and pulled out an orange potion that had a pink and grey tinge to it. I uncorked it, and asked her one last time:

"Are you sure about this? It may be your last minute as yourself… " I grinned, holding up the potion. I had labeled it in English clearly as enslavement potion: adaptable form. Her eyes had lost any signs of bravery, now they just showed pure fear.

"Isn't that.. what you used on Josh?" She asked, gulping down whatever vomit she might have had again. I grinned as I snapped my fingers, and a part of her arm turned back to flesh, revealing a bleeding cut. I walked over, ignoring her stare, and collected a few drops into the potion. It started to bubble, before changing a totally gray color.

"You'll nev-"

I snapped my fingers once again as she talked, and the part of her arm the turned to flesh turn to stone again as her mouth turned to stone and was frozen in a open position. I grinned, enjoying every moment of her torture… and drinking it all up. Speaking of drinking it all up, I made her drink the entire thing forcibly. I snapped my fingers again, and her mouth turned to normal. The expression on her face showed she was clearly trying to fight it, but losing. After a minute, her eyes glazed over, and she said: "How may I serve my mistress, and why have you chained me?"

I grinned, snapping my fingers as her legs, waist, and arms turned back to flesh. The chains unlatched, and she crossed her arms and bowed. I snapped my fingers, and a French maid's outfit materialized over her clothes.

"Your first order… clean the dragon's den."

"No." She said, looking up. The expression in her eyes had changed to normal, and she clenched her fists. Well, looks like she was being rebellious. Damn interfering powder… ah well, I had the satisfaction of knowing eventually she'd be mine to control and then eventually a statue... probably a centerpiece for good. I turned my attention back to her, where she had ripped off the maid's dress and looked as if she were prepared to run. I snapped my fingers, and she forcibly got into the position she had been in when chained. Her entire body minus her head turned to stone this time, and she glared at me with hate.

"Screw you Equinox." She spat at me again. So annoying…

"Shut up, slave." I snapped.

"Yes mistress." She said sleepily with her eyes glazed over again. They changed back to normal and she had a terrified look on her face.

"Did I just call mistress mistress?" She said, her eyes widening with shock once she said that. I grinned, clearly glad to see the potion winning out over the negative effects of the powder. In a day or so, she'd be mine. I grinned and snapped my fingers, covering all her face except her eyes and mouth. She glared at me, and just to test something, I said:

"I'm leaving now… be a good slave and stay quiet." I said smirking.

"Never Eq- Yes, mistress." She said, her eyes glazing over and then reverting back. I left the cell, taking one last look at her wide and terrified eyes. I loved my job.

**I had something really smart to say, but I forgot what. I hate when that happens. So tell me in the reviews: What do you think Equinox's plans are? And how is Cerbarium alive?**

**Talk to you later, guys!**


	12. It Had To Happen

**This chapter makes me sad. You'll see why. **

**Lots is revealed here. Look for the small details, they may be foreshadowing! (Hint hint.)  
**

_Mitch POV_

"You've got to be kidding me!" Carmen yelled in frustration. The others gave her strange looks. "First, there's a potion that makes me opposite, then I find out about all your magic stuff, and now Taylor's a human statue? What is this?"

Jewels put her hand on Carmen's shoulder. "Calm down, girl. It's all going to be okay."

"No it's not!" She argued. "Guess who has to go deal with all this? Me. Not you guys, but me! I had to have four months of my life taken away, I have to get beaten up every day, and now it's my job to go save her!" She stormed off to her room.

"Drama queen..." Jason said under his breath. I glared at him and he looked apologetic.

Solstice stood up. "Well, that happened. What's up with her?"

"She's been through a lot in the past months." I said. "She's not normally like this."

"Stubborn, headstrong, and stressed? That sounds like Carmen to me." Jerome said.

I punched him. "Stop it! All of you!"

"Stop what?" Megan asked.

"The jokes! The side comments, and the little things about Carmen! How would you feel if you were super stressed, but your friends just sat there and made fun of you? I thought you guys were good people." I stormed off to go talk to Carmen.

She was sitting on her bed, sniffling a bit but looking angry. "You okay?" I asked softly.

"No." She said, not moving her head at all. I closed the door and sat next to her.

"Let it all out." I said, wrapping my arms around her.

She pressed her face against my chest. "I feel like I'm under the potion again. Except this time, I can control my actions. I don't know why I keep yelling so much, Mitch. And I just realized, I haven't posted a video in five days. Five days. How could I do that?"

I stroked her hair. "Shh. It's all going to be okay. Just post a video explaining why you're gone."

She nodded. "But that only solves one problem."

"What else do you need help with?"

She took a deep breath. "There's this person. And I have to tell this person something that's really hard to say, and it may hurt their feelings. I'm afraid they won't understand why I'm telling them this and that they'll ignore me. What do I do?"

"Tell them what's on your mind. If they don't respect that, they don't deserve to know you."

"Do you know how hard you're making this? Mitch, I need to tell you something."

"Tell me anything, Carmen." Fear built up inside me. What was she going to say?

She was silent for a few minutes. "Mitch?" She finally said. "I'm breaking up with you."

My world came crashing down then and there. The world began spinning, and emotions bubbled inside me. I wanted to yell at her, to tell her she was ruining my life. I even wanted to cry, because she was the best thing that ever happened to me. But I didn't. Instead, I said, "Okay. May I just ask, why?"

"I can't tell you." She said softly. "It's not you, it's me. I'm sorry."

I stared in shock. "Are we still friends?"

"I really can't commit to any relationships right now."

I sighed in defeat. "Goodbye, then." She didn't answer. I turned towards the door and walked out.

"Hey Mitch! We need-" Adam called.

"Not now." I mumbled. "I'll be in my apartment."

As soon as I got in I collapsed onto my bed. What did I do?

_Carmen POV_

I cried openly into my pillow. I didn't care if anybody saw me, I didn't care. Everything was so unfair… why was it me? WHY?! I bawled even harder, but then I heard a soft voice.

"Is this really all you'll do you girl? You should've kept him around and heeded my advice you know." A voice whispered into my ear. I looked around, trying to confirm my suspicions. There was no one there. Great, now I was hearing voices too!

"It's so unfair, why did it have to be me! ME of all people?" I protested out loud, smothering my face in the pillow.

"Because Scarlett chose you. It could've been anyone else, but it was you." I heard the voice again, this time out loud.

"U?" I called cautiously , looking around.

"Look up." Following the order, I looked up and nearly screamed from shock. U was on the ceiling, or more accurately, in it. He only was there from the waist up, and the ceiling around him rippled. Instead of his orange jacket, he was wearing orange samurai style armor that revealed a gray skintight suit beneath it. He winked, and phased into the ceiling before popping up in front of me.

"Y'know, it really would've been more helpful for the story to just stay with Mitch. I don't want to dro any more big bombs, but… ya. So… blah blah blah etc… your fate and all that stuff."

Wiping tears from my eyes, I asked him, "Didn't Scarlett tell you to stop this? I bet she told you to stop breaking the fifth wall too."

He smirked, and just waved it off. "As if! She might've almost killed me after a brutal beating, but I'm still doing whatever I want!" Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Besides, I'm not breaking any walls. In this universe, I have a role as a god. This is just a detour… I'm visiting my favorite apprentice, who just so happens to hate me despite my teaching him how to control, seal, and release his power. And speaking of Solstice…"

"Wait." I said, interrupting him "You were talking about your apprentice, and now Solstice? Solstice is your apprentice?"

He grinned even wider. "FORMER apprentice." He corrected. "I was his first and latest teacher out of five. He originally trained beside Equinox under me, before her sealing, but that-"

"He what?" I interrupted him once again. That was too much to process… U was a god, Solstice, who was outside my door, was apparently trained by him, and Equinox had trained beside him? "He trained WITH Equinox?!"

"Oh, that's right, he hasn't told you his and Jewels actual ages yet. How old do you think he is?" He asked me. I thought on this for a second… he looked around 20, but I could never be sure, because he was who knows how old according to U.

"Oh, so you think he's 20 or so? Ya, he's not. But I will drop a hint before visiting him… you should have kept Mitch because of two words: the sight. Goodbye, Carmen!" He said, waving and about to snap his fingers.

"Wait." He grinned and turned around when I said that, almost as if he had been expecting it. He probably had. "You said you taught him about how to seal his power… why would he want to do that?" That didn't seem like a big question, but it was just bugging me, nagging at the back of my mind.

He smirked and said "Because, ever since his birth, he's had to had his immense energy sealed. There are so many carteracts, seals, and energy sources inside his body, it's just far too powerful for him to handle. In fact, he could destroy the entire multiverse by accident if he unleashed it all. But I taught him how to reseal his power, and how to call upon and unseal it for his own use. His form is able to change when he releases it, but he especially needed my training to keep Sailacane from controlling. That's a story for another time." He grinned, and bowed.

"I must leave, for Solstice and Jewels are also leaving to try and talk to Mitch." The door to the dorm room opened and closed, squeaking.

"You might want to tell them about Equinox, by the way, but I think Mitch is going to do that anyway. And once I leave, your friends are going to start to knock to come in so they can comfort you, buuuuut…" He vanished in a puff of smoke, and a knocking sound came from outside my room as they knocked on my door.

**Question for today: How do you think Solstice will react to Equinox not being sealed when U tells him? And any other magic stuff he might be surprised by?**

**Scarlett's rant: I am so mad at myself for writing this chapter. Why did they have to break up? They were so perfect together, and she was finally happy... And poor Mitch. Getting rejected by Carmen so much. I wish I could have listened to U...**

**TOLD YOU SO.**

**Don't rub it in.**


	13. Comfort

_Carmen POV_

__**I am so sorry for the short chapter. It's not even that good either. I'm a failure at life :( I've had lots of homework lately, so it's been hard to update. **

**Length aside, hope you enjoy the chapter! This will set up a legit plot.**

I wiped my eyes as they started knocking. U was so...vague. And what on earth is "the sight"? "Come in." I called weakly. Megan, Adam, Jason, Blaze, Annette, and Jerome walked in.

"Are you okay?" Annette asked. Her and Megan sat down beside me.

I nodded slowly. "Just stressed, that's all. I mean, the threat of your friend dying is pretty intense."

Jason walked closer. "Listen, Carmen, I know it's hard. I'm really sad too. But you need to remember that it's not your fault. You let your guard down for one minute, that's all."

'Yeah, and I failed,' I thought to myself before speaking. "May I talk to Blaze for a minute?"

"Absolutely." said Blaze. The others filed out of the room. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

"U came back. He talked to me." I informed him.

His eyes sparked with interest. "Tell me all about it." He sat down next to me as I explained the odd conversation.

"One more thing." I added. "He said I shouldn't have broken up with Mitch or something."

His eyes widened. "You broke up with him? Why'd you do that?"

"What do you mean, why?" I asked him. "Relationships are not a good thing right now. If Equinox can't get me, who will she use as bait? People I care about. If Mitch hates me, it's even better."

Blaze shook his head. "I really don't understand girls. You find your soulmate, but you go break up with them?"

I snorted. "Soulmate? He's just a guy who I dated for a while. No big deal."

"Carmen, are you-"

"You know what?" Powered surges through my veins. "I don't need him! I'm going to do this all by myself. No more Mitch to the rescue."

"Carmen-"

"I don't need help! I managed to seduce a crazy murderer and get away! I acted like the complete opposite of myself for a month without potion effects! I'm Carmella Paige, and I can do this!"

"Carmen!"

"WHAT?" I roared a little louder than I expected.

He shied away a bit. In a small voice, he said, "You do realize you dumped him?"

"Shh..." I shushed him. "Let me have my moment." I turned to go back to my motivational speech and sighed. "You ruined it."

"Sorry." He apologized quickly.

A thought came to my head. "Blaze, did I scare you?"

He shrugged. "A bit."

I gasped. "Am I turning rude?"

"Well..."

"ANSWER ME!" I yelled. I quickly covered my mouth with my hands. "What's wrong with me?"

"Carmen, is it that time of the month?"

I glared at him. "Rude. And no, thank you very much, it's not." I banged my head against the wall and sighed. "It's the stress, isn't it? I'm letting it get to me. Is this what happens after breakups? I've never actually broken up with someone."

He grinned. "Really? This is your first breakup? You new feminine comfort. I'll go get Annette and Megan."

"I've only had two relationships, and one was with a crazy guy. Don't go get them, I'm too afraid I'll snap at them. I'll just stay in here until I feel better."

"You need this, girl. I'll be right back."

"Blaze..." I said in a threatening tone. He ignored me and brought the girls back in.

"How may we help?" Megan asked kindly.

"Oh, you know. Stress, fatigue, I broke up with Mitch, having to save Taylor..."

"What was that last one?" Annette questioned.

"What, having to save Taylor?"

"The one before that." Megan said.

"Fatigue?"

"Carmen, the one between those."

"Oh right!" I said. "I may have broken up with Mitch."

Annette raised her eyebrows. "This story ought to be good."

I sighed. "I don't feel repeating myself again. Can you bring the boys in here?"

"They left a minute ago." Megan told me.

"Great, they'll hear it from Mitch." I said happily. Less people to explain to. "So, you know how I kind of have a bloodthirsty demon after me? Well, I didn't want it to be like last time where people risked their lives to save me. I decided that if people hated me, no one would come looking for me when I left."

Annette rolled her eyes. "Elaborate plan, Carmen. I feel like creating a scheme to save your friend isn't the best way to deal with a breakup."

"You're leaving?" Megan asked. "Sometimes going away can help you cool down, but you can't disappear forever."** (Terrible reference to Young Love! Love ya DeadTuber :p)**

"Yeah. I suppose so, but do I really have a choice?" I asked. "I need to figure out where Equinox is, save Taylor and Josh, and attempt to make it out alive myself. If I don't, then I don't want people mourning the loss. You guys have lives to live."

They wrapped their arms around me. "We'd never forget you, Carmen." I smiled slightly at their comfort. I'd remember this moment until the day I died. Knowing my luck, it'd be in about a month.

**Tell us in the comments what you'd like to say to Carmen to encourage her!**

**Just a note: Updates may not be as frequent now. Sorry!**


	14. Not Another Atlantic Reunion

**Sorry about the lack of updates. **

**Both of our schedules are busy, and we don't have as much time to write. Luckily, Scarlett has time to write tomorrow. **

**Enjoy this very... Interesting chapter. I find it really funny knowing that U wrote the Solstice POV. Keep that in mind when solstice talks about U ;)**

_Solstice POV_

Looking behind me, I sighed in frustration. The others had just come out of Carmen's room. It would be so much easier to try and get some info out of Mitch if me and Jewels went alone, so this complicated things. I couldn't exactly quiz him on everything happening here, about WHO this demon was, without him being that suspicious. Hell, I would have to hypnotize him to get the stuff out of him. Curse Equinox… she may be the evil one, but she got the telekinesis. It might've been useful to try and quiz them all at once, but ONE of them would put two and two together eventually. They thought that I was trying to calm Mitch down, which I was going to partially do, not freaking grind him for info like I was on one of those repetitive cop shows that all seemed to be the same.

Eventually, we reached his dorm room, and I opened the door. Everyone stared at me, and I relized that they thought it was odd I had just opened a locked door. I quickly hid my glowing hand behind my back.

"He left it unlocked." I said lamely.

We walked inside, and following the sobbing, came to his bedroom. The door was open, and I ushered everyone inside until me and Jewels were the only ones in the hall. She stared at me, and I nodded. She pulled out a small gemstone, and I watched her press it to her forhead. She removed her hand as her body and clothes started to become invisible. I waited about a minute, during which I heard the rest of the guys talking to Mitch, before walking in and closing the door. Pointing at it, I muttered a spell. We didn't need any eavesdropping demons…

"Mitch, just calm down. I've known you forever dude. Carmen probably didn't break up with you because she…"

"Jerome,can you be quiet! Now Mitch, Carmen broke up-" This went on for another two minutes before I interrupted.

"Can someone please let me speak? Mitch, here's what everyone has been trying to say yet been too stubborn to let someone else explain: Carmen broke up with you not because she hates you, but because she loves you. It may not make sense, but here's why: Mitch, she loves you too much to just stand by and watch you be hurt because of her. She doesn't want you to try and defend her because she doesn't want YOU to be hurt in the process."

He wiped a tear from his eye. He stared at me, pondering what I just said.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yep."

"So true."

"Y'know it buddie! *slurp*"

Everybody chimed in with their own version of "yes" and quite a few of them added in slurps for some reason. "It's true. I'm a magical demon slayer dude. I freaking see souls, I know how she was feeling." They stared at me skeptically, as if they thought I was lying or holding back something. I might be, but… didn't matter. I decided to avert the suspicion by asking the question I came to ask in the first place: "So, this demon…. Did it have a specific name it went by?"

"Yeah, it was a she. She called herself Equinox Monde." Mitch said. But that was lost on me.

"Equinox…

Equinox…

Equinox… No...no… it can't be…"" I said, my face turning pale. I started to shake with fear as everything around me started to turn black with white outlines. The guys started to stare in terror as the environment around them changed, and Jewels suddenly popped up with the gem in her hands broken.

"Damn it! I didn't get to tell you myself." I heard a voice say from behind me. An all too familiar voice…

"U!" I shouted in a rage, pulling out a white sword hilt. It extended into a blue energy longsword meant to be held in two hands, but I held it with one. I whirled around, pointing it at the annoying bastard in orange armor behind me.

"I'm going to destroy you just like when I destroyed Atlantis! COBALT LIGHTNING!" I shouted, and a large highly destructive bolt of blue lightning rushed out from the tip at him. There was a loud explosion when it hit him, and smoke covered the area. It vanished in a instant, and U just stood there. He smirked.

"DAMN YOU, U! HEAVEN'S GRACE: SKY MESIAH!"

Large blue circles appeared around him in the sky, and a light blue sky-like shield formed around him. All of them suddenly let out large blue lasers, and a earth shattering boom echoed throughout this pocket dimension thing. I growled in frustration as the shield shattered and U stood there, his arm extended outwards. I growled in frustration.

"WHY U? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE INSTANT SHE BROKE HER BANISHMENT! Spirit…. BREAK!" I shouted, suddenly surrounded by a blue light as my body glowed blue and became transparent. I held out my arm, and a large blue sword appeared, made out of blue transparent energy. I teleported behind him and brought my sword down. He caught it with one hand, and threw me backwards and I skidded on the floor landing in front of the guys who were watching this. I stood up, and heard a breaking sound as the spirit break was resealed. Damn my lack of concentration.

"Solstice, are you really that angry with seeing me? Or is it just because I didn't tell you about Equinox, once she came back? "

"Both!" I yelled, wielding my sword in both hands again.

"You really think she broke free of the banishment you placed on her? No, she didn't. It's a contract with a mortal."

"YOU THINK I CARE, YOU JACK ASS, SORRY EXSCUSE FOR A GOD!" I shouted, leaping at him. I made contact with air as he appeared behind me. He kicked me, and I somehow went flying across the tiny room and hit the wall. I stood up in spite of the pain and roared. "IM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" I teleported behind him. "Release the second seal, eighth form! RAGNOROK:PHASE ONE!" A spear that was taller than me decorated with purple dragons and gold with a purple gem adorned into it appeared. I threw it at him, but he snapped his fingers and my form was resealed.

"Solstice, what happened to your common sense? You can't kill me when you purposefully go into a dimension I created. Anyway, here's what I've been trying to say: Carmen's in danger, she's running away. Going to try and keep Mitch, Jerome, Annette, and everyone else from Equinox's wrath. But screw that, we both know that Equinox's going to already have personally implemented them into her plans. She won't spare them, and her revenge will certainly include a few of them dying as sacrifices, or their souls being a snack for her, or being statues or something like that. We know her style…. When she wants revenge, she'll do it by first targeting the friends, family, and those things important to them. And if she gets the target first, we know she'll make them suffer before giving them a break to watch their dear ones suffer and die or face a worse fate. But my point here? You gotta get to Carmen and protect them. It's important, and I can't interfere with your fate until the situation requires me after this. Damned fates…" He finished.

He snapped his fingers, and the environment started to return to normal. Everybody, even Jewels, was staring at me. U started to fade away, but I wasn't going to let him get in the last word.

"SCREW YOU U!" I yelled. Tired from the fight, I sunk into a chair. "I hate that guy."

_Carmen POV_

Megan and Annette left so I could have some alone time. I sank into my bed and put on some music. My playlist consisted of Fallen Kingdom, Take Back the Night, Revenge, and much more. I automatically relaxed as TryHardNinja's voice filled my ears.

"I gaze off into the bound COBALT LIGHTNING! Note-block choirs playing in the sunshine. Turn round, pick up DAMN YOU, U! and wield, the blade that HEAVEN'S GRACE: SKY MESIAH! to yield." I raised my eyebrows. That was new.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL-" Muffled shouts came from the next apartment. Either Mitch was really bad with breakups, or Solstice had just seen U again. I got up slowly and pressed my ear against the wall.

"Don't waste your time." Scarlett said as she materialized. "Men have a unique way of fighting. Especially when it comes to magic."

"Why do you keep bugging me?" I asked. "It's bad enough that you're ruining my life, now you keep intruding."

"So U's allowed to blow up an asylum, but I can't have some fun? Not fair." She pouted.

"U's right, you're a drama queen." I said as I began to pack my clothes for my journey.

"Whatever." She snapped her fingers and my suitcase was full. "That should make up for one of the times I ruined your life."

"About 100 more to go." I muttered. "What do you need?"

"I am offering you help." She said casually. "Some information you may want to know."

"Why do I need your help?" I asked. "It usually results in me breaking up with my boyfriend or getting others hurt."

"That's not true." She whined.

"Example A: You tell me I should break up with my boyfriend. I do and now I'm alone and miserable."

She shrugged. "Breakups happen all the time."

"Example Two: You give me a useless phone and call it 'help'."

"You could have been more creative with the uses." She said.

"Example Three: You-"

"Fine!" She interrupted. "I'm no help. Thanks for lowering my self-esteem."

"Welcome." I said while shoving my toothbrush into a bag. She snapped her fingers and packed it. "Stop that!"

"I don't have time for you to pack." She said.

"Can you do me a favor? Go away."

"You don't like me, do you?" She accused.

"Not particularly." I admitted.

She crossed her arms. "I'll go be someone else's guardian then."

"Good riddance!" I called as she disappeared. Gosh, she could be so annoying sometimes! No one let me do things on my own anymore.

I got undressed and hopped into the shower. I thought more clearly when steam filled my lungs. I pondered my options carefully. Right now I had no idea where Equinox was, how I'd get there, and how I'd defeat her. Seemed like a great position to be in. Plus, I had no experience fighting. That fight with Josh was child's play compared to what I was about to face. I turned off the shower and got dressed. Maybe a walk would help.

When I walked outside, I spotted a new sign behind all of the protesters'. Martial Arts Class: Become a warrior in seven days. That might help...

**And everybody was Kung-Yu fighting! Sorry, I couldn't resist. **

**Disclaimer: We do NOT own Fallen Kingdom, Revenge, or Take Back the Night.**

**I wish I did. Tell us in the reviews who your favorite character is! I know I've asked before, but we have like five new ones. If a lot of people want to see more of a character we can arrange that!**

**By the way, thanks for 1,000 views! It's so amazing to know people have read our writing 1,000 times! Thank you all so much. **


	15. Equinox's Scheme

**Nothing to say today. U?**

**Nope. Lets get straight into the chapter!**

_Carmen POV_

It didn't help. All I learned was how to punch and kick someone... Did they think I was dumb? I left after the first class, determined to leave the next day. It was getting really awkward between me and Mitch because I wouldn't look him in the eye. Surprisingly, he didn't seem too upset, but he might have been faking it. Sometimes, he really confused me.

Scarlett hadn't talked to me since I got mad at her. Usually, I heard her voice whenever I was thinking, but it was my own for once. There wasn't much of a difference, but I could tell. I wondered if she really had found someone else to annoy. I pitied whoever it was.

I pushed past the angry protesters who must have been outside for a week now. They screamed choruses of rude names, but I tuned them out as always. I was just about to slam the door when one brave soul stopped me. "Carmella, where is he? Just admit it and we'll go away."

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around. "Admit what, exactly? I've done nothing wrong. Do you want me to say I have him, to give you false hope? Just leave, I don't know where he is."

"You don't understand!" She begged. "I need to know where he is. He was really important to me."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you just going to call me rude things too?"

"Oh, of course not." She assured me. "I just think you know more than you let on."

I sighed. "Let's continue this conversation inside, shall we?" I pulled her inside and slammed the door on the others. We made our way to the couch. "First off, why do you think I know so much?"

She shrugged. "You don't strike me as the clueless type. From what I've heard about you, you're much more of take-action kind of girl."

"What do you mean, what you've heard about me?"

Her eyes widened. "You haven't heard the stories? They say that you blew up one of the most secure insane asylums! That you ran out of a hospital after being in a coma and rescued your friends! And that you did all of it while drugged! You're a legend!"

I laughed. "That's a bit of an exaggeration. I didn't blow up the asylum, my friend did. Yes, I ran out of a hospital, but I didn't save my friends. My ex actually saved me after I attempted to save them. And no, I wasn't drugged during those things. It's nice to know that someone doesn't hate me, though."

"They don't hate you. They're jealous because they all want to date Josh."

I chuckled. "That clears a bit up. People still think I kidnapped him though. So now I have to go save him, wherever he is."

"So you really have no idea?" She asked me. I shook my head."Good luck, then."

"Thanks." I smiled. "I really need it."

She got up. "Oh, wait! I have something for you." She searched through her pockets until she found it. "With all of those people out there, it's easy to lose hope. This will help you." She put a token in my hand. "Just grab onto it when you feel lost, and it will guide you."

"Thanks for everything." I said warmly. She waved and pushed through the crowd.

_Equinox POV_

"Report!" I said, staring down at the three bowing men, all but Cerbarium in the middle wearing black cloaks over their bulky shapes. I eyed Cerbarium carefully, for I knew ONE of his personalities was loyal to his former leader I had killed.

"My empress, excellent news. The remaining factions and small groups that are the remnants of Sailacane's army have grouped up with us. There were the few that knew of what you had done to our- er- their leader…. Dangit two, don't interfere when 3 is talking!... shut up 1…"

I left his split personalities to bicker, pondering this excellent news. My forces were growing…. In just a few hours, I'd have a larger force than after my damned brother destroyed garthrial.

"Xenic, what do you have to report?"

"Very bad news. The slayers have become highly suspicious of all the demonic activity all over this dimension. They know that the center of the activity is here, in New Jersey, yes… but a group led an attack upon Magi daemonium, beliving they were trying to destroy this .. state, is it called? And let the hell be opened to the sky _**(A/N I live in new jersey, and have seen evidence of the NJ devil, and the theory of hell being directly below NJ). **_They were totally anhilated. The odd thing about this attack, however, was it seemed tobe executed with Solstice's permission."

"Bad news indeed. What of "she I shall use for revenge?""

"The one tha you plan to add to your statue collection? The condition doesn't seem to have progressed by much more than a little, according to my report."

Bad news indeed…. The magi were powerfull allies. I had been needing their assistance, but that Taylor girl's condition was progressing A BIT. I smiled at that. I'd have that girl kill against her will for the sacrifice, and if I had long standing control of her, I could use her just as I did with Josh. I smiled again at the thought of that damned mortal being my slave now, he'd even had the nerve to sign the contract with me…. And make it so much easier to have her in a pose when she became a statue.

"That is not good news for us… Zerazin, I hope you have better news than him."

"Indeed I do, Empress! We have finally convinced the New Jersey devil to join in our cause. His sheer power! It has grown in the 300 or so years since you met him. Why, I nearly DIED by being too close to him."

"Excellent…. You 3 are dismissed!"

I smirked as they left my chambers. This was very excellent… the devil of this continent had been powerfull enough that I had considered him a equal once. If he was near the power dictated by Zerazin, he had indeed grown much stronger. But I feared not… I was still stronger.

**TRANSLATIONS FOR THE AUDIENCE:**

Magi daemonium** – the demon mages**

**I've never heard of the New Jersey Devil.**

**I have no questions today either. Um... Tell us in the reviews how your life is going! **


	16. Where's Carmen?

**Hey people. It's almost midnight where we are.**

**We do this for you guys. Anyways, here's the chapter!**

_3rd person POV_

1 hour ago…

The large black tower lay in shambles, dead bodies and ashes scattered all over the floor. A fire still burned near the top, and most of the tower smoked. A large group of white tents were set up on a plain to the tower's right, and inside one of them several figures sat. A large wooden table stood in front of them, and a glowing orb that represented the earth was in the center. The most prominent feautures about all these men were the white anime-style cloaks they had on, but their faces were uncovered. The previously mentioned globe had large red dots, which were slowly forming into a red mass in and around New Jersey.

"Dammit… demons are still concentrating onto one spot!" One of them proclaimed, staring at the globe.

"Calm, Gelan. That isn't appropriate language for a angel, is it?" A female one asked, trying to make a joke at his expense.

"He's right, Yulvie. This is worrying… we destroyed the magi. We killed or dispelled all their members' magic. It's been an hour or two now… the last traces of their magic should've vanished, and these demons gone back to wherever they should be. I doubt that anyone other than the magi did this, and we know the NJ devil isn't responsible. He would have killed everything by now."

"Your right… this is worrying. With Commander Solstice missing…"

"We know that he's always off on personal missions, and he typically vanishes at this time of year. But I think this would break his annual distraction…" The other man said.

"This is incredibly annoying… there has been too much activity lately. We know the trainee's murder might have been related to this… it was, according to Solstice's last report before he vanished again, heading towards the Atlantic shore. This was a day before everything started to happen… it may be related."

"Very well. Slayers, all agreed to dismiss this meeting and keep all discussed here private?"

"Agreed." The others said in unison.

_Mitch POV_

It's really hard to watch your ex be crushed by stress and not do anything about it.

Normally, I broke up with the girls. Even if they dumped me, I was usually fine after a day. But this time was different. I still liked her. It took all of my strength not to run over and hug her and beg her to take me back. Even worse, she didn't want to be my friend. I couldn't even talk to her now. All I could do was watch from the background.

'Carmen broke up with you not because she hates you, but because she loves you.' Solstice's voice played over and over throughout the day. 'It may not make sense, but here's why: Mitch, she loves you too much to just stand by and watch you be hurt because of her.' That's where he was wrong, though. I was getting hurt. Not physically, but emotionally. I felt a pain in my chest every time I saw her. Was it heartache?

I saw her out of the corner of my eye and straightened up. I knew that if Solstice was right, she wouldn't want to see me depressed. If he was completely wrong, she would at least think I didn't need her. Honestly, I did need her, but I couldn't let her know that. Right now, I figured I'd let her do her own thing. Sitting back observing wasn't my style, but I reluctantly did so.

Carmen pushed past me, her long brown hair shielding her face from mine. I watched in sadness as she cast her gaze away from me. Not once did she make eye contact. She hurriedly opened the apartment doors and went it. I followed, not trying to be a stalker, I just had to go home too. I almost went into the elevator after her, but I realized she needed her space.

"You two not talking?" asked a voice as the doors closed on me.

I looked over, and the lady at the front desk met my gaze. "Yeah." I said sadly.

"What's the problem, sweetie? Breakup, fight, did she cheat on you?" She motioned for me to sit down in the chair next to her desk.

"She dumped me." I wasn't quite sure why I was telling this lady my problem, but she always seemed so nice.

"Why would she dump you? Any ideas?" For the first time, I noticed her name tag. It said Ms. Worth.

"I don't know, Ms. Worth." I said using her real name. "One of my... Friends has a theory, but I don't know if he's right."

"Oh?" She said, mildly intrigued. "Mitchell, I think you should go with your gut feeling." The elevator doors beeped and opened, indicating its arrival.

"Thanks, Ms. Worth, I will." I walked over to the doors and waved.

The next morning, I woke up feeling a bit better about my situation. Plus, Jerome had gone shopping and bought Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, but that was beside the point. I hungrily dug into my cereal for my 10:00 breakfast, ready to tackle a Saturday full of recording and sleeping. I had my stuff all set up when Jerome and Annette burst into the room.

"Biggums! We have a situation!" Jerome said very loudly.

I told him to quiet down. "Okay. Annette, slowly tell me what the problem is."

She took a deep breath. "Well, I woke up an hour ago and went to check on Carmen. She seemed a bit, well... Stressed, to put it lightly, last night. I went into her room but she wasn't in bed. I figured she was in the bathroom or already awake, so I ate breakfast as usual. But then, I saw the video on her channel, and... You should just look it up."

I sighed. "Fine. What could be so bad?" I went on to her channel and pressed play on her recent vlog.

"Hey embers, it's your girl GoldenFlame here! I just wanted to give you some updates. First off, I wanted to let you guys know that Mitch and I broke up. We're still friends, and we can still do videos together..."

"Do I have to watch this?" I asked.

"Shh! Yes!" Jerome said. I turned back to the screen.

"-once I get back from my trip. Second update: I am going on a little trip this month. I'm leaving after I post this, and I don't know when I'll be back. I have some prerecorded videos for you, and I'll post some vlogs too. Just be aware that I may run out of content. Thanks so much for being the best subscribers ever, and I'll see you when I get back! Love you guys!" The screen went dark.

"She's going on a vacation? Right after Christmas break?"

Annette frowned. "I guess breakups do mess with your head. Don't you get it? She ran away!"

**I'm so tired, I'll skip the rambling and go straight to the question. Who's staying up to watch Mitch+Jerome's live stream on Friday? I am!**

**Goodnight, everybody. We'll update tomorrow hopefully. **


	17. Apologies

**I'm so tired from watching the livestream that Im going to skip this A/N. Enjoy not having to read my babbling. **

_Mitch POV_

"Gone?" I asked in disbelief. "She can't be! Carmen's not dumb enough to run away on her own."

"Are we talking about the same girl?" Annette asked. "Because the Carmen I'm talking about is the person who refused to let anyone save her from a potion."

"Or help her save you guys." Jerome added.

"Okay, okay..." I said defensively. "But why would she run away now? She doesn't seem to have a motive."

"Is the pressure of the protesters too hard on her?" Annette suggested.

My eyes widened. "You don't think she couldn't handle it, do you? That she ended her life..."

We all looked at each other for a moment and then ran into her apartment. "Megan!" We yelled. "Megan!"

"What?" She asked as she appeared in her bedroom doorway. Adam was with her, and they both had headsets around their necks.

"Have either of you seen Carmen?" Jerome asked urgently.

"No." Adam said. "What did she do now?"

"We don't know yet." Annette confessed. "She's missing, that's all."

"Where could she be?" Megan asked.

I shrugged. "Will you help us look?"

She nodded. "Annette and I can check her room for clues."

"I'll go with Adam to the café and wherever else we think of." Jerome volunteered.

"I suppose I'll try and call her." I said, not feeling as if I'd be much help. We all nodded and set off.

I walked back to my apartment and took out my phone. I dialed her number, but I got no answer, like I expected. I left her a message telling her to call me and hung up. I knew I'd be no help, but I thought I'd feel less hopeless after hearing her talk. I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling.

I felt my phone digging into my back. I tried to move it, but instead of plastic I felt a chain. Curiously, I took it out and stared at it. In my hands were two necklaces: the one I gave Carmen, and the one the old lady gave us. I looked at them in confusion. How did they get here? I remembered Carmen taking the protection charm, and she hadn't given her necklace back after the breakup. Did she give them to me before leaving?

I checked all over, looking for a clue. If I knew Carmen as well as I thought I did, then I knew she wouldn't leave me with no answers. It took me ten minutes until I finally found something: a note tucked into my book, "Wandering". I didn't even know I still had that, because it was way back from when my mom gave it to me for my 10th birthday. I opened the folded note, which smelled faintly of her shampoo, and began reading. I was praying it wasn't a suicide note.

_Dear Mitch,  
You're probably wondering where I am. Even if you aren't, you were the easiest to slip a note to, so you can tell the others my message. I have left and do not know if and when I'll return. What I'm doing isn't of your concern, I just needed some time to myself. Don't bother looking, you won't find me. Here are some messages I need you to pass to the others:_

_To Jason and Adam: I've had a lot of fun making videos with you guys. Jason, don't despair about Taylor, I promise she'll make her way back to you. Adam, be sure to protect Megan while you have her.  
Megan: You've been a great friend these past few months, and I really appreciate that. I know you must be sad about Taylor as well, so I promise she'll come back.  
Blaze: Only you truly understand why I've left. If it doesn't work out how I hope it will, please finish what I need done.  
Jerome and Annette: you guys have been amazing best friends. Thanks for always being there for me. I will never forget you.  
Mitch: I don't know what to say to you. The time we had together was great, but I don't think we were made for each other. Since that's the case, I've left you something under your pillow. One is to protect, and one is so you'll always remember me._

_Goodbye, my dearest friends. If I never see you again, I hope you all remember me as a good person._

_~Carmen_

A lump formed in the back of my throat. I didn't understand half of that note, but that wasn't why I was upset. She didn't think we were meant for each other, and she gave me back the necklaces. If my hunch was right, then she needed the protection. And since she made it seem like she was dying, I wanted her I have my gift. No matter how much I tried to deny it, I couldn't. I was still in love with Carmen.

_Carmen POV_

I tucked my hair behind my ears and trudged on. I had no idea where to go. Where were you supposed to go to find a demon's lair? Personally, I couldn't answer that. For now I needed to get distance between me and my friends. I was only about ten miles away so far, which wasn't good. It was really hard doing this on foot, but I couldn't leave Annette without a car.

My feet ached as I spotted a hotel up ahead. Judging by the position of the sun, it was about 7:00. I figured it would be a good time to stop at the hotel. Plus, it was a three star so it wouldn't be too bad, but not too expensive. I was so grateful for my jar of life savings, especially because my life could end in a few days. I was glad to spend them on saving my friends.

When I got to my room, I immediately plopped onto the bed. The news was the only decent channel, so I decided to watch that. The reporter started talking, but I wasn't listening. Eventually my eyes shut as I drifted into skating-filled nightmares.

**We may update later tonight because we are trying to get as many chapters out as possible.**

**About that. I will be going on a school trip to Washington DC next week. We leave Tuesday at 10pm, so we can post that day. We come back Saturday morning so we will post then too. U and I have agreed to just post before and after my trip. Don't worry, I'll make a major cliff hanger on Tuesday. **

**Anyways, tell us in the reviews where you think Carmen will look for Equinox!**

**If any of you thought of this story when Mitch and Jerome talked about Josh from New Jersey in Hunger Games 200, then I'm hugging you through the screen right now. Here's a blueberry muffin. **

**And on that note, talk to you later!**


	18. The Gatekeeper

**What's up, readers? I'm casually sitting in an apple tree singing Fallen Kingdom really loudly! As my sister would say, I'm living life to the fullest. **

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter! I'm really proud of this one. **

**When I read it, I started obsessing over how good his part was. The best I could do was write about blueberry muffins...**

_Solstice POV_

2-3 hours ago…

"Why the hell does fighting him make me so tired…" I groaned, my body feeling stiff. I was laying on a bed, and Jewels was pacing back and forth. After I had convinced the guys Jewels would tell them what just happened later, they had left Mitch alone and me and her to return to our room. That fucking U…. I would kill him… even though I do still regret leveling Atlantis during "magi-con" a few years ago… I hate him so much…

But Equinox was back… I couldn't believe it. A mortal actually signed a contract and summoned her… but how? HOW? I was certain I was the only one who knew how to summon her, and l'd only done that ONCE … which I regretted, because I decided to see what she thought of me, but… That was besides the point. I had to figure out where Equinox was, and what she had planned… U for sure knew what she was doing, but didn't tell me, damn him. I needed my back up plan… First I needed to figure out what, and after a few hours of Minecraft Youtubers, I felt confident of what it should be. Standing up, I faced Jewels.

"Lieutenant Jewels, listen carefully. I have no idea where Equinox is or what she's planning, but I know what I need to do to stop my sister. I'm leaving for the next few hours, so don't come after me. Don't. I have to try and reinstate my backup plan. But if anyone comes here, you know what you need to do. I feel confident more than ever someone is going to try and interfere, most likely a demon. You'll have to defend them, and I'm relying on you to stall everyone else and try to explain things to them. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." I said, going to the window. I opened it up, and jumped out. I landed in the air, a blue pulse wave echoing out from where I stood, and started to leap across the sky with jumps that were at least fifteen meters long.

Present time….

I constantly jumped through the air, nearing my destination, smiling slightly in spite of myself due to the cool, relaxing air blowing in my face. The island in front of me, I crossed through its magical barriers and landed on its sandy beach and started to walk uphill, the sand steadily turning into grass and woodlands. I glanced backwards at the ocean, and started climbing again until the land straightened itself out and I came across a shrine in perfect condition. It was made from a light gray stone, with a large circle carved into its middle and an arch going across its width. The top of the arch had runes etched across it in a language long forgotten to most of the world. Underneath the middle of the arch, a small pillar that reached up to my waist stood with identical runes on four sides. The top of it was slanted, and a large half-circle hole in it. Reaching into a bag on my side, I pulled a light green powder out of a brown bag on my side and started to sprinkle it around the circle, chanting what the runes on the arch said repeatedly until I came to a full circle. I stopped chanting, and reached into my jacket to grab a dark green orb that was the same size as the hole in the pillar. I walked up to it, and placed it in. Instantly the runes on the arch and the pillars side started to glow a light green light, and I started to chant what the side of the pillar said four times. Every time I finished chanting it, a glowing green line carved itself from a side of the pillar to the glowing circle. Once I had finished and the fourth line connected to the circle, the green glow darkened to a deeper green color, and I was blinded as it lit up the surrounding area. I put my arm over my eyes, and when I removed it, the pillar was gone, and a deep green portal had appeared, stretching all the way across the arch. Walking through it, I heard a familiar pop indicating teleportation and everything quickly went black.

I blinked, and everything suddenly went into focus once my blood stopped roaring in my ears. I was standing in front of a large tower on a floating stretch of land. I ran inside, treading over the purple grass until I entered it, and looked around before shouting.

"GATEKEEPER!"

Looking around, I expected him to appear in an instant. I growled in frustration, looking at all the floating and moving deep green portal and arches with portals in them. After counting the 1000 or so portal methods in here I counted the actual portals before my patience ran out. I decided it was time to start blowing everything up.

"Gatekeeper, appear now before I blow everything up!" I shouted, giving him a warning. At that instant, a large green portal appeared in front of me, and out flew the gatekeeper. His deep green robes flowed in the non-existent breeze, the gold outlines on his robes that covered even his face shined.

"Welcome, Solstice. I didn't notice you until you got violent."

"Enough with the formal greetings, I'm going to cut straight to the point. Equinox has returned."

"She's what?" He said, gasping. Most likely because he didn't know. Unless he was faking it because he knew…

"I have a plan to defeat her, but I need a backup plan if I fail to do so. So this backup plan, it involves… … …. . . . . .. …. .. . ."

A loud roar cut me off, but he nodded signifying he knew what I meant.

"Very well, Solstice… another dimension you've forced me to close all access to, but for you I'll make the exception."

A flash of light blinded me, and I shielded my eyes. This seems to be a common occurrence as of late… I put my arm down, and a blue pearl floated into my hands which I cupped.

"Thank you." I said bowing.

"He he… finally polite, eh? Goodbye, Solstice."

_Carmen POV_

I woke up and rubbed my eyes. The TV had stayed on the news all night. The bright light shone into my eyes and I closed them on instinct. Once they were adjusted, I stumbled out of bed and walked into the bathroom, feeling too lazy to find the remote. I combed through my tangled waves and brushed my teeth. I was about to get dressed, but I froze when I heard my name on the TV.

"We have an update on the kidnapping of Josh Mahoney. As you may already know, Carmella Paige is suspected of being the kidnapper. Police interviewed her a few days ago and determined her insane. This may have been incorrect because she has managed to escape the insane asylum and run away. There is now a $25,000 on her head. If you've seen this lady, please contact this hotline." The same number flashed onscreen as last time. "Here is a picture of Josh and of Carmella."

I raised my eyebrows. They had chosen a picture that truly looked nothing like me. Just in case, I decided to take some precautions. I went out and bought the supplies I needed: One jar of blond hair dye, blue contacts, and makeup. Sighing, I prayed that this washed out after fifteen washes like it claimed. I unhappily followed the instructions on the dye and transformed my hair color. I popped in the blue contacts and turned to look in the mirror.

I gasped when I saw myself. Seeing a completely different you is one of the most frightening things ever. My emerald green eyes, my best feature, were gone. My brown hair was replaced with Barbie doll blond. I wasn't Carmen anymore. I felt like a fake.

I left a note on the bed that said I was in a rush and couldn't check out, along with the money. I grabbed my bags and snuck outside, hoping no one would see me. I decided to get a rental car and put more distance between me and California. I payed and drove off into the direction of Nevada, not really knowing what to do.

Four hours later, I was driving near Salt Lake City. I hadn't eaten any food yet, so I decided to stop at a Dunkin' Donuts and grab a blueberry muffin. It was just my luck that the same news report from earlier was playing on the TV. I prayed that the disguise would work and got in line. When I got to the counter, the lady was engrossed in the report. "May I please have a blueberry muffin?" I said.

It took her a minute I realize what I said, but she snapped out of it. "Oh, of course. That'll be a dollar fifty." I nodded and handed her the money. "Can you believe someone would do that?"

I realized she was referencing the news report. "Oh. You never really know with society today, but the report is a bit skimpy. I mean, they don't seem to have any proof that I-" I caught myself before I said I. "-it was actually her, you know?"

She smiled. "Yeah, but the idea of getting $25,000 is nice. You don't exactly make a fortune here. And with the bad economy, everyone in the country is searching for her."

I bit my lip. I hadn't exactly thought about that. "Even if I found her, I wouldn't turn her in until they had evidence. Right now it appears that she's done nothing wrong."

"You must be pretty rich to turn down an offer for that much money. Here's your muffin."

I took it from her. "Thanks. Good luck finding her!" I walked out as quickly as I could. Now, not only was a demon after me, but so was a whole country. Great.

**Mysterious plans by Solstice. I bet you're wondering what he's up to. And Carmen, she always has to have her blueberry muffin. **

**Like I always say: When in doubt, buy baked goods. How am I underweight...?**

**Anyways... I have an interesting question for you. Do you think Carmen wil find Equinox, or will Equinox find Carmen? Tell us in the reviews!**

**We'll bring you another chapter tomorrow. Bye doods!**


	19. Flashbacks

I decided that I needed to go home. I wasn't going to die while lying to my mom, so I needed to tell her what'd happened to me. The drive was long, but eventually I made it. I had to stop at hotels every once in a while. Pulling into the driveway was a huge relief for me.

I rang the doorbell and rocked on my heels, awaiting my mother's face. She opened it and smiled. "Hello, how may I help you?"

I frowned. "Mom, it's me! Carmen!" She looked confused. "Oh, I dyed my hair and wore blue contacts."

"Why did you do something stupid like that?" She asked.

I sighed. "It's a long story. May I come in?"

She nodded and I walked in. We sat down in the same room that started all of this, my living room. I was sitting where Mitch had been. "So, why did you ditch a super expensive college to go dye your hair and drive across America?"

"Well..." I said, and I came clean to her about everything. I told her about the potion, the dance and going into a coma, attempting to save my friends, and Mitch saving my life. I explained the news reports and the protesters, and about Taylor going missing and that it was my duty to save her. I even told her about the voices in my head.

When I finished, she looked astonished. "Is this really what kids do in college? Listen, honey, I think you may be sick. Let's go upstairs and have you lay down."

"Oh my gosh. For the last time, I am NOT crazy! I was already in an insane asylum last week, and I blew that one up! Why does no one believe me?" I ranted. "If you don't support me, that's fine. I you excuse me, I'm off to kill a crazy demon that may kill me in the process. Thanks for being a great family member." I stormed towards the door.

"Honey, wait!" She called, but I ignored her. I ran down the street towards a place where I could think: Shell Cove. After five minutes of running I made it there. I sat against a tree and looked at the place that held so many happy memories. I thought about wave jumping and lemonade, talking about video games with Mitch and Jerome, and agreeing to go to college together. Suddenly, it wasn't my imagination.

_"I can't believe we start middle school tomorrow." Younger me said._

_"Yeah, I know, it's crazy." said Mitch._

_"Soon we'll be at the 8th grade dance, and we have to get dates." Jerome said._

_"Ew!" I said. "I don't want to date anyone. Dances are stupid."_

_Jerome laughed. "You planning on standing in a corner, then? Everyone knows that the kids who don't get dates are dumb losers."_

_I crossed my arms across my chest. "Don't care, Jerome. Dances are dumb and only for girls to dress up and fantasize that they're princesses. Booooooring."_

_Mitch smiled. "Don't worry, Carmen, I'll take you as a pity date." I punched him in the arm._

I walked over to them, and apparently they couldn't see me. I sat down next to myself in the sand and watched. I knew what was coming soon.

_I punched him in the arm. "Thanks, Mr. Generous. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."_

_"Well, let's make a pact." Jerome suggested. "No matter what happens in middle school through high school and college, we stay together."_

_"Won't we go to different colleges?" I asked._

_"Nope. Same one. Deal?"_

_"Deal." Mitch and I replied together. I hugged them both and said, "You guys are the best. I don't know what I'd do without you."_

The scene changed to a day I remembered very well. It was the summer before 8th grade, the last time I had gone to Shell Cove before last year. We were talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up.

_"I want to be a gamer." Jerome said. "Imagine, getting paid to do what you love every day!"_

_I laughed. "Like what, one of those commentators on YouTube? Do you know how likely it is that you'd become famous?"_

_"I'm a firm believer that hard work can get you anywhere." He replied. "Mitch, what about you?"_

_He thought for a moment. "Although being a gamer sounds sweet, I want to do a bit more in life. I kind of want a job that pays a lot so I can have a nice mansion with a pool, and a game room, and all that fancy stuff."_

_I rolled my eyes. "You guys are both ridiculous. I personally want to be a mother, but I want to make a difference in the world. I want to have made a change, or done something heroic before I die. Honestly, I can't see myself growing up to be more than twenty. Maybe I'll make a difference by then."_

My eyes started tearing up. How was I so predictable? Had a thirteen-year-old really been able to predict my future? I wasn't exactly fulfilling my dreams of being a mother, but I must have made a difference somehow. Whether it'd been positive, I really didn't know. I tried to keep myself from crying.

_"Very noble, Carmen." Mitch said. "Of course you want to make a difference."_

_"What's the point of living if you waste it? I wish I could somehow tell my future self to never give up if it gets tough. Giving up is failing."_

_"Oh, Carmen." Jerome said. Our laughter died out as the scene faded._

I laid down and stared at the sky. Realization hit me. I was doing the right thing, no matter how wrong it felt. I needed to go save my friends, and there was no giving up now. Giving up is failure. Giving up is failure. I repeated that a few times in my head to motivate myself to sit up.

I suddenly became aware of how cold it was. I hadn't noticed before, but it was considerably different from California. I shivered in my T-shirt and jeans. Snowflakes were stating to float from the sky. I sighed, knowing that I had to go back home. My mother was probably mad at me, but to be honest I was sick of it. Why did people think that just because I blew up an insane asylum I was crazy? I couldn't have been the only teenager to do that.

I shoved my hands into my pockets as I walked back. The snow was picking up, and I could barely see five feet in front of me. The sidewalk was slippery, so I focused on not falling. This proved to be very difficult, but I made it four blocks without slipping. Of course, I managed to wipe out after that. I was about to get up when I stopped. Was I dreaming, or was there a floating ball of green light?

I walked towards it cautiously, not wanting to scare it. It seemed to have no worries when I neared it. I listened closely and heard a faint snoring sound. Was this thing asleep? I noticed that it looked an awful lot like Solstice's orbs or whatever him and Jewels called them. This couldn't have been his, though, all the way in New Jersey. Was there another demon around?

I stepped closer and it flinched. "She's hiding in New York!" It yelled before looking up at me (or at least I assumed, it is an orb after all). "Oh. Um...hello. You didn't just hear that." I raised my eyebrows. "Uh... Solstice!" It flew into the air and disappeared.

So it was his. Was he spying on me? "Tell Solstice to leave me alone!" I called after it. That was so confusing. Who was this she? Could it possibly be who I was looking for?

**Cliffhanger fail. Good job Scarlett.**

**I try. Anyways, tell us in the reviews if you think Carmen's predictions for herself in the flashback will come true! I have to go pack so I can go to DC tomorrow. **

**Just a reminder, we will post tomorrow and not again until Saturday. Bye!**


	20. Cliffhangers Galore

**Today is the last chapter we'll be posting before Saturday!**

**Sorry for the inconvenience.**

Solstice POV

Jumping through the air, I quickly neared my second destination. I looked down on the store and large war-house type building, and jumped down landing in front of the store's front doors. When I opened it, a bell chimed, and I whistled as I took a look around. The rows of swords, axes, armor, and other weapons was astonishing, all made based upon movie characters or video game and anime things. If I remembered correctly, the blacksmith had made some of the weapons seen in movies. But even more impressive, when you walked into a certain part of the store, and the enchantments could be seen by those capable of it, were the weapons. Claymores with red hilts and black blades, destroyed and restored ancient weapons, foils*, swords adorned with gems, hilts of all types without a blade, whips, gauntlets made of dragon scales, and countless pieces or armor. Among the weapons, I counted three angel weapons and one demons weapon in a display case.

"COMING!" A gruff man called, shuffling his way through the back door behind the counter. The Large man pulled off his gloves and took the goggles he was wearing over his eyes off. He stared at me for a solid minute before blinking and rubbing his eyes.

"Solstice! Long time no see… um… I hope you aren't going to try and forge your own order this time."

I chuckled, remembering the state his LAST workshop had been in the one time I had tried forging my own sword. That may or may not relate to the Atlantis thing, but…

"Not today… I'm trusting you to do something important. I can't give you all the details, or why, or how… but just know that someone very powerful has returned. I can't tell you the specifics; you know how deadly that knowledge can be to a mortal with as much knowledge as you." He nodded, and I reached into my pocket to pull out a handful of something: Seven large, sterotypicaly shaped diamonds. I tossed them to him, and he caught it in his left hand and began fingering them with his thumb.

"Are these my payment?"

"No, these are what you'll be making. I need you to make 2 swords and an axe out of these- and make them angelic weapons."

"Angelic weapons? I haven't crafted them in a decade… but I'll try."

I nodded, and watched him walk into the back, where he kept his forge- and more dangerous contraptions.

3rd person POV

Back at the dorms, however, multiple events were happening which would lead to a single conclusion. Mitch and his friends were dreading what might come, and Jewels was pacing around in her and Solstice's room. Her emerald wisp was racing towards her as fast as possible, and nearly there, but not yet. And on the top of the building…

Solstice POV

After a few minutes of grinding, explosions, and hammer clangs, he came out carrying three weapons: two identical swords, with white hilts and a shining blue diamond blades. The third weapon was a large light blue shining diamond axe, with a fairly basic white handle.

"That was quicker than usual, eh? You actually used magic to make these ones, usually it'll take a few days for you to make a weapon."

"This is different, Solstice. It's… well, you. Now then… I believe there's a small matter of my payment?" He finished greedily, a shine appearing in his eyes.

"Yes, always on top of things as always… especially money…" I muttered, reaching into my jacket to pull out a piece of gold the size of a brick. His jaws dropped when he saw it, both because of the millions of dollars that was worth and the SIZE of it.

"Tha-that's … do you know how much?"

"I do… but keep it. Consider the rest of it money to pay off my tab."

3rd person POV

A small red portal had opened. Demons were walking out, and not just any demons- true demons. About a dozen came out before twice as many small, green-skinned warty and disgusting creatures with bald heads and large ears came out, dressed in leather armor with Egyptian swords tied to their backs. Their beady little eyes gleamed ,a deep red color identical to that of the now shrinking portal.

"The mistress says that a part of her heart is HERE?" One of the creatures proclaimed, sniffing around.

"Yes, you moronic goblin." One of the demons scoffed, holding its glowing talon-like hand up to its face. After a few moments, it lowered its hand and the glow faded, and the goblins had begun to sniff the rooftop, and they had all fixed themselves to the north, 40 meters away from the current location.

"Looks like we were over-prepared. A college maternity dorm area? We were expecting a heavily-gaurded compound or protected magic shop."

A minute earlier, the emerald wisp materialized into Jewels' room in a state of panic and told her of what happened, and where Equinox was.

Solstice POV

Muttering a spell under my breath, the three weapons turned into a blue light which put itself inside my jacket. I turned around and left the store.

3rd person POV

And then they both heard a loud bang. Two ran to the boys room, and saw they were running out. Jewels threw a gemstone at a goblin, who's head promptly exploded. Turning to her wisp, Spes and Asha included, she told them to warn Solstice just as she avoided a sword that one of the demons had thrown.

Solstice POV

I was about to take off again, when suddenly Spes and Asha appeared in flashes of light.

"Guys? What are y-"

"NO TIME! True demons And Goblins are attacking! Too many of them!" They both shouted.

True demons? Attacking Jewels…

"NO! I wont let anyone die… You two, grab on."

They moved over and held onto my jacket as much as possible for wisp. As I hopped into the air, I moved so fast that the landscape below me went from one area to another in a instant. In seconds, I slowed down as the dorms appeared below me. Most of the roof had been blown off, and numerous goblin bodies lay strewn on the floor. A single piles of clothes and ash laid near Jewels, but they had been backed into a corner by twenty goblins and eleven or so true demons.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" I shouted, pulling out a small white and gold cylinder which turned into my bow. I notched five energy arrows at one as I pulled the golden string back, and let it fly. Two demons and two goblins fell down, dead, and one missed. The demons bodies were slowly turning into feathers and smoke. "I SAID, GET AWAY!"

I fired arrows until only three demons and six goblins remained. They had taken cover, and it appeared as though one of them was preparing a weapon. I notched a arrow, but suddenly the demon turned, an arrow notched on a black bow, and fired. I felt pain as everything went black.

***A foil is what a fencing sword is called; however, they all them weapons in fencing.**

**We promised you a cliffhanger...**

**I'm off to go sit on a bus for eight hours! See ya later!**


	21. New Conscious, Bad Idea

**I'm back from DC!... And posting a day late. Fail. **

**This chapter is quite interesting, and it takes place before Jewels got attacked.**

**Don't kill me for the lateness, it's my fault. Plz, I fan.**

_Mitch POV: __Minutes earlier_

It had been a week. One full week without hearing from her. She could be missing. She could be kidnapped. For all I knew, Carmella Paige was dead. I paced back and forth in my room, my attention drawn to the calendar. It was February 3rd. She must be freezing, wherever she is. Even California was cold.

My gaze drifted over to her note sitting on my table. I observed her neat, readable handwriting. My chest ached with longing for her to be right with me. Her voice filled my head and I sighed. I wanted to know if she was okay.

"She's fine, Mitch." A voice came out of nowhere. I looked around, feeling a bit panicked. Suddenly a bright red light engulfed the room and a figure appeared. I looked at the girl. I could tell she was a girl due to the dress and long hair. "Okay, just give me a minute." She took a deep breath. "Ohmygoshyou'reBajanCandian! I love your videos!" She ran over and gave me a hug.

My jaw dropped. "And you're a mysterious woman who broke into my room. Who are you?"

She let go of me and curtsied. "Mitch's conscience, at your service!"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Don't worry, I have experience being a conscience." She assured me. "I used to be Carmella's until she fired me."

"Carmen?" I asked in disbelief. "You know her?"

She laughed. "Of course, silly! I worked with her since September! I mean, who else would have helped her save you guys?"

"Uh..." I was extremely confused.

"Oh, am I confusing you? Here, sit down and I'll explain." I did as she asked. "Alright. So, do you remember when Carmen saw you again in Ocean City? Well, that was when I became her conscience. And then she got drugged and all that lovely stuff, and Josh had to go and ruin it by putting her into a coma. So I talked to her and told her what she needed to do, and after she saved you guys I let her know that you were alive. She actually thought she ruined the story, can you believe it? So-"

"Wait." I interrupted. "Story?"

She looked fearful. "What? What story? Your life totally isn't a story. Heh heh... I'm not an author, I swear!" I raised my eyebrows. "Um... You didn't hear any of that."

"Sure. So how does this pertain to me?"

She laughed. "Carmen used to always say that. She'd be like, 'Scarlett! You are so off topic!' or 'I don't need your help!'. That one's my personal favorite."

She said Scarlett. That must be her name. "Scarlett," I tested it out. "Why are you talking to me if this doesn't help me? In case you didn't know, my ex is currently missing. I'm just a tad bit stressed."

"Oh, so she didn't get back together with you? I see that she took my advice."

I pinned her against a wall. "What advice?"

She widened her eyes. "Uh..." The same red smoke appeared, and I couldn't feel her arms anymore. It cleared and I was suddenly alone.

"Scarlett!" I yelled.

"Yes?" A voice chimed in the back of my head. I looked around frantically, trying to figure out where she was. "I'm not a person right now, silly. I'm in your mind. This way you can't murder me."

I groaned and pounded my fists on my desk. "Go away."

"My gosh!" She complained. "All you humans are so ungrateful! I just want to help."

"If I'm so ungrateful, then why don't you leave?" I asked.

"Can't." She said sadly. "U will kill me if I annoy another human."

"Isn't U the guy who fought Solstice?"

"He WHAT?" She roared. "Oh my gosh, I am going to kill him! I thought that was some other idiot fighting Solstice!"

I laughed in spite of myself. "You have fun with that."

"You aren't getting off the hook, mister." She scolded. "Listen: Carmen has run away, as you know, and she going to attempt to take down Equinox. Alone, might I add. She needs you, though. You know how convinced she is that she can do it all by herself." I nodded in agreement, the statement being very accurate. "Although she is an amazing girl, she isn't immortal. A demon practically is." She sighed. "And I now realize that I was wrong making her break up with you. Mitch, she needs you."

My lip quivered. "Oh yeah? Then why did she tell me we were never meant to be?"

"She doesn't understand. You guys are the perfect match, just not in the way you think you are. Find the item that can help her, and you will be a great help. If you ever need me I'll be in your mind, but right now I'm going to kill U again!" She said. I tried to reply but her voice was gone. I was thinking normally again. What did she mean? What could possibly help Carmen slay a demon?

My eyes darted to the necklaces. One shell necklace from Ocean City, one emerald from me, and one locker from that creepy store. Would an anti-demon protection charm help her? I doubted that it worked because it was in Carmen's room when Taylor was kidnapped. I had no more time to ponder this because two sets of feet came crashing down into my roof.

Cloaked figures came crashing down into the room. I counted 12 before more… things… appeared. They were horrible and disgusting, covered in warts and pus-filled bumps. They had green skin, with large ears filled with gray hair.I grabbed the necklaces and charm, and stood up slowly backing away towards the door. One of the cloaked figures stepped forwards and stared at me with eyes glowing red.

"Where do you think you are going, mortal?"

It hissed. Mortal? The only person who had called me mortal was… Equinox. And she was a demon… so…

They were demons. Uh-oh.

"Mitch! What was that loud ex-" Jerome yelled as he opened the door. Looking behind me, I saw Adam and the others too. They were staring now with wide eyes.

"Miiiiiicth? Plan R?" Jerome asked, nearly screaming.

"Yes. RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"

We ran out the door, slamming it shut, and then the door exploded.

"_We should go see what happened to Solstice!"_ Scarlett's voice proclaimed, echoing through my head.

"Not helping…" I muttered.

**Why is my character so annoying?**

**I don't know, you created her.**

**Right. Scarlett, why did you make yourself annoying?**

**Stop talking to yourself. In the reviews, tell us what you think happened to Solstice!**

**And for those of you who didn't notice, U may have given away some of our plans... I legit yell-typed at him through PM.**


	22. Minor Setbacks

**We have a super long chapter today with a total of 3,619 words!**

**I hope this makes up for the week I was gone. Also, I have to give most of the credit to U. I did about 1,000 words and he did the rest. **

** As you can see, Scarlett ahead once again not followed up on her death threats. ****Enjoy the chapter!**

_Jewels POV_

I stared as Solstice fell down towards the floor with wide eyes. He fell onto the ground, the arrow through his heart, with a loud thump. He obviously slipped into a state of unconsciousness when he did so, and all of the remaining goblins crawled out from their hiding places and started cackling maniacally.

"Look at the smelly hairless-ape demon slayer! HA AH AH AH AH!" The smallest one shouted before cackling again.

"Enough, goblins." Said a true demon as it materialized from the shadows. It stared intently at Solstice, who had began writhing in pain, and I could only tightly my grip on an amethyst in my hand. Damnit… I should've been prepared for an attack! Solstice had even warned me about it, before… this.

"He is correct. Just grab the heart fragment and leave. We don't have time f-" another demon said as it stepped out from behind a pile, holding a black bow that appeared to be made from thorns and spider silk. He stared at Solstice and hissed.

"It's Solstice! THE WINGED LIGHT! SOLSTICE!" He proclaimed, pointing a midnight black finger at him. "We must get it and leave NOW! BEFORE WE FACE THE REPRECUSSIONS FOR HARMING THE SLAYER'S COMMANDER!" He shouted, moving his hand towards Mitch.

"Commander?!" Proclaimed Jerome, his face white as a ghost, backing away. The goblins all surged forward, piling onto Mitch, eventually pulling a dark gray chink of metel around a string out of his pocket. A emerald necklace and sea shell charm fell out when the metal was, and the goblins all fled towards the demons. I threw the amethyst, and it exploded into thousand of snakes, every part of their body made from razor-sharp amethysts. The snakes lashed out, biting and tearing apart the goblins and a few of the demons before they vanished. The remaining enemy force grouped together, and a large red portal opened beneath them sucking them in.

"Damnit…" I said, staring at Solstice. He was writhing around, still unconscious, groaning in pain. The groans then turned into a long, unearthly scream as the black arrow into his chest melted into shadows and darkness, covering his chest and expanding outwards. He screamed again as it covered the rest of his body, and he thrashed around in agony as he screamed once more.

"The shadow plague… impossible…" I stammered.

_Solstice POV_

Darkness. All I saw was darkness. It was so frustrating. I had been walking for what felt like hours but was probably minutes in this black, empty landscape to try and find a door or the core of light or SOMETHING or SOMEONE already.

"Come on! Near-death experience going on in my body. Pretty sure this qualifies me for some divine intervention on levels the Bible doesn't even talk about!" I shouted, looking around. Not very surprisingly, a door has appeared. A simple, plain wooden door. Light that was just and blinding as the sun. I walked towards the door, turned the knob, and opened it. Stepping forward, I squinted as I was temporarily blinded by the light. When my vision returned, I was in a true white dimension. In front of me stood a man 6 feet tall. He had no distinguishable facial features, hair, or anything. His entire body was made of pure, golden he looked solid. _**(A/N Notice: His private area is smooth.)**_

Bowing, I addressed him. "Greetings, core of light, O sacred god of light, father of god himself, creator of the long line of heros whom have saved the universe forever embracing the light, etc etc, purest representation of the light in existence." I said politely.

"_**Rise, my child. No need to be so polite. After all, you are of the hero Linege."**_ He said, looking down on me. A sudden burst of happiness hit me, and I smiled however unwillingly, for no one could do anything but when in his presence.

"_**You are at the point directly before the climax of this saga, this chapter of you**_**r long **_**and eternal life**_. _**Your sister is now but one step closer to relieving her banishment. For goblins have obtained another part of her heart, and only the one you posess remains. You do not yet know the extent of her power, or the numbers her forces have reached. It is drastic that you know how she is here to more easily find a way of defeating her."**_

"You mean.. the contract which a mortal signed to bring her here?" I asked. I had been trying to find the mortal, but Equinox was my top priority at the moment.

"_**Yes. Just stay by… and watch."**_

Him and everything around me slowly turned blurry and dulled in color, like I was watching a old film strip. Eventually, everything came into focus, but it was still blurry. I was in a basement, and watched as a person I could identify as Josh, the one who went missing a few months ago, cut his hand with a sacrificial knife. He winced as his cut started bleeding, but he put the knife down, and picked up a large red book full of yellow, brittle pages. He started flipping though, and I saw him passing pages he had marked labeled "Love potion", "Oppisite personality potion", "Basic runes" "Advanced alchemy bases". He eventually stopped at a page that wasn't quite as old as the others. On it, a summoning rune was shown, with multiple notes printed previously and a few I could only guess were his own notes. The other page read "How to sign contracts with demons".

Dabbing two of his fingers on his bleeding wound, he began to draw the symbol on the floor, the dimly lit light making the blood appear to be glowing. He winced as his cut began bleeding at an even faster rate. Dabbing his fingers over the cut again, he drew a large circle around the rune and placed black candles just outside the circle. Grabbing a cloth, he wrapped his hand around in it. I knew the tequnique well; it was quite literally pushing into his wound clogging his blood veins. A bit risky, but it was useful to quickly stop blood loss.

He sat down cross legged outside the circle, the candles lit and illuminating his face, and began to chant words from the book. The rune began glowing, literally bursting into flames, and vanished. Then, a collum of fire burst upwards, just barely missing the ceiling, and when it faded into nothing more than a few sparks, there stood Equinox. Other than her large, impressive two-meter wing span and below waist-length brown hair, the only immediatly noticeable feature was a torn, dusty, ragged brown cloak covering her, obscuring the bulky shape of armor. I gulped, remembering just how indestructible that suit was. Just REMEMBERING the fight made me want to curl up into a ball and start crying.

"YOU'RE THE BLACK EQUINOX MASK?" Proclaimed Josh, nearly standing up and breaking his spell. Growling, she looked around.

"Yes, I am the black equinox mask mortal. And if this is what a mage'slair looks like these days…" She said, pointing towards me. I nearly panicked for a second, before remembering this was just a scene from the past. I looked behind me, and would've laughed if it hadn't been so pedophilic. There was a shrine to Carmen, with candles, a wax head bust, even a picture of her stepping out of the shower with a towel around her. I didn't even want to KNOW how he took that picture. "Then the state of this world has grown far sadder than the last time I was here; and that was when one of the world's largest countries was at war with itself over other humans."

"WWhat? No, I'm not a wizard… I just found a book… powerful demon, it said.." He stammered, his cheeks red, as he pulled a remote out of his pocket and pushed a button. A curtain imeadiatly draped itself over the shrine, obscuring it from view- but not mine. At least not mine…

"This is my mom's basement… point is, here." He said, handing her a scroll. She started to read it over.

"1. The demon shall remain in the world of the living so long as the mortal who signed this contract is alive and does what he asks, but not without reasonable pay." She said, looking approvingly at Josh.

That was it! "So long as the mortal who signed is alive." I just had to kill Josh and Equinox would go back to the 12th level of hell! I turned my attention back to the scene at hand.

"7. The demon may not harm the mortal physicly or with magic." She finished, looking at him.

"I shall agree with these terms, mortal, so long as I add two of my own." She pulled a eagle feather that dripped red blood out of thin air and quickly scribble something down before adding her signature to the bottem. She held it out just outside the circle, and he took it from here, read it, and quickly signed it.

Everything began to fade until the environment was back to the way it had been before I entered the memory, the only difference being a white simple wooden door like the one I had taken to be in here was where the core had been.

"_**You understood what has transpired in the past to elad to this moment and what you must now do?"**_ The core's voice rang through my voice.

"Yes." I said, opening the door and stepping through.

_Carmen POV_

I sighed and walked down the street. I should just accept the fact that my life is weird. I mean, is Solstice's shiny green orb that talks about demons in its sleep really all that weird? Of course not.

I must have been really tired, though, because everywhere I looked I saw memories. I saw places where I played as a child, and when I walked past my old house millions of images popped into my head. I was curious as to who had bought that house. After we'd left, a family with a girl my age had gotten it. I couldn't remember her name, but they'd seemed nice at the time. The thought bugged me, so I mustered up enough courage to knock on the door and ask. I didn't really know why I felt the urge to know. I just had to.

A middle-aged man answered. "Hi!" He said cheerfully. "How may I help you?"

I smiled. "My name is Carmella Paige, sir. I used to live here, and I was just wondering what happened after I moved. How long have you been living here?"

"I remember you, Carmen. Though you look a bit different... Come on in and I'll tell you about it." He said. I didn't hesitate, he seemed like a nice man. He also knew my real name, so I guessed I did know him at one point. "Sit down, don't be shy." I obeyed. It was the same couch I has always sat on. The living room honestly looked the same, too. I turned my head in every direction, looking at their pictures that had replaced mine. "My name is Mr. Harvey."

I gasped. "I remember you! You used to live near the church. You taught Sunday School, right?"

He nodded. "I suppose you remember Olivia?"

I smiled eagerly. "So it was you who bought the house from us, right? I remember a family with a girl my age buying. I have no idea why I forgot if I knew you guys."

He shrugged. "You had a lot going on then."

"What do you mean?" He couldn't possibly know about Josh...

"Moving is stressful." I sighed in relief. He didn't know. "And Olivia told us about what happened with you and Josh. I'm so sorry he dumped you at that dance."

I raised my eyebrows. "How exactly does she know that?" I had a feeling she'd gotten her story wrong.

He laughed. "Olivia is an observer, always has been. She notices things no one else really does. She figured it out when she was dating Josh, before he broke her heart."

"She dated him?" I asked, feeling very intrigued. "I missed a lot in New York."

"I have a picture somewhere of them at prom..." He rummaged through some drawers but continued talking. "He broke up with her right before the after party because he said he was too in love with another girl. That's what he said to all the girls back then, you know. He'd bring them to an event and break up with them because of some mysterious girl. Probably before he dated you, because you guys didn't last long."

'Maybe it's because he tried to assault me.' I thought. I decided to play along and get more information out of him. "Yeah, he said something like that to me to."

"Here it is!" He said. "I miss her so much. Now she's in college in California, and I haven't seen her since Christmas." He stared at the picture longingly for a moment but then handed it to me.

I looked at the photo. Josh looked miserable, and I smiled a bit at his suffering. 'Snap out of it, Carmen, stop being happy at his pain!' I yelled at myself. I took a moment and then turned my attention to the girl. After studying it, I gasped. "I know her!"

"Didn't you go to school with her?" Mr. Harvey asked.

"Well, yes." I said. "But I do now, too! It all makes sense, how did I not see this before?" I facepalmed.

He looked at me curiously. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Your daughter just talked to me. She asked me to find Josh." I said excitedly, finally understanding.

His eyes lit up. "Oh, right! I heard about that report. Didn't people think you took him?"

"Yeah. I didn't, but I know who did. I'm actually on my way to rescue him."

"That explains why you changed your appearance." He said with understanding. "So, about my daughter."

"Right. Well, she did mention things she observed about me, so that explains that. And she gave me this." I pulled out the token. He seemed to recognize it. "She told me it would give me hope."

"That token has been in our family for years." He explained. "It brought my great-great grandpa home safe from the civil war and it kept my mother alive when she had cancer. It truly is lucky."

I saw how much value the pen had. "Here. Take it." I handed it to him. "It's rightfully yours."

"No!" He insisted. "You need this on your journey." He smiled and I reluctantly put it away.

"Dear, who are you talking to?" A woman, who I presumed to be his wife, entered the room. "Who's this?"

"Roseanne, I'd like you to meet Carmen. She used to live in this house." I shook her hand. "She and I were talking about Josh Mahoney and the token. Do you remember him?"

Her eyes went cold. "He broke my daughter's heart. When I find that girl he was in love with, I will pound her." I gulped.

"Calm down, dear. Carmen dated him in 8th grade, so she understands."

She turned robotically towards me. I sharply inhaled as she glared. "You." She muttered. "You did this!" All at once, she disappeared into a cloud of black smoke and pinned me to the wall. Staring at me intensely with her glowing red eyes, she said, "You will pay."

"Roseanne..." Mr Harvey said cautiously. No one spoke for a moment.

"Um... You're a demon." I said timidly. She cackled.

"You must know my master: Equinox. She's going to pay a high price for you." My body was flung aside upstairs and she flew over me. Roseanne grabbed me and tossed me into a room, locking the door behind. "Allow me to summon her. The rewards I get for a puny mortal like you!" She laughed manically and stormed downstairs.

I rubbed my sore limbs and got up. She had thrown me into my old bedroom, to add insult to injury. I paced back and forth, not really knowing how to get out. They had installed bars over the windows. I picked the token that had fallen onto the floor up and rubbed it between my fingers.

Images burst in front of me and I stumbled back. I saw all of the important things I had done in my room, and some contained Mitch and Jerome. I looked at the coin in awe. Did it give me the power to see the past? I gently set it down and the memories disappeared. That explained a lot. I picked it up and scanned the room, looking for anything I could use to escape. After sorting through hundreds of images of me playing with trucks, I found what I was looking for.

A seven-year-old version of me was playing with Jerome. He was banging against the wall when a vent panel fell away. He gasped and past-me started yelling at him. After arguing, they noticed that there was a secret tunnel. They entered, and I followed after them. After five minutes we saw a light. We ended up right outside where the vents released the bad air. I climbed past them and started running. From down the street, I saw the demon in my room.

"Gotta run gotta run gotta run!" I willed myself to move faster. I turned the corner and came crashing. My mom looked at me worriedly.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, Car-"

"No time!" I yelled. "There's a demon after me and she'll look here. Get in the car, pick up Jerome's mom, and drive away! You guys are all in danger!"

"Carmen, you're crazy!"

I slung my bag over my shoulder and looked straight into her eyes. "Mom, trust me." The look of understanding said a thousand words. In a matter of seconds she had apologized for calling me crazy, trusted me, and told me she loved me. I had apologized for running out on her and for being rude. We were at peace.

The spell was broken as she moved towards the door, grabbing important valuables along the way. "Honey, just one thing: Where are you going?"

"I'm going to save my friends' lives." I answered confidently. "I don't know when, or if I'll get back, so this is goodbye."

She gave me a pained expression and pulled me into a hug. I embraced her back. "Good luck." She whispered.

"Thanks for being there for me. I love you so much." I said back. "Now go. Save yourself." We tore apart and she rushed outside. I followed closely behind.

She made it to her car so fast that she didn't see my tear-stained face as I turned towards the roaring storm approaching me.

_3__rd__ person POV_

Two guys dressed in white anime-style cloaks with a blue symbol, which cannot be identified at the moment but means they are demon slayer, initiates on it. They both carry two-sided one-handed swords with intricate tips. Slung over the one on the left's back is a very simple white bow with a thick golden string. The one on the left was looking at the house intently, like he had X-ray vision or something, and the one on the right was quickly flipping through a small white pocket-sized notebook with a picture of a cartoonish slayer killing a cartoonish demon. He finally stopped on page 8 and looked at it intently.

"Will you stop acting like your superman and have X-ray vision?" He said finally, snapping the book shut and putting it into his pants pocket. He turned to his friend, incredibly annoyed at him for acting like he had X-ray vision, and he was waering the standard demon slayer in-field mask too- and that COVERED HIS EYES. Just even more annoying.

"Blah blah blah, I only heard you say I have X-ray vision!" The other one said, turning to look at him. "So one of the prophets said a demon lives here, works for some all powerful demon overlord wanting revenge on a girl who is supposedly in here, or is it something else? All of her missions sound the same by now." He stated.

"Yep. Demon teir: Imp, weaponless, demon type: Humaniod; ash shapeshifting demon, controls fire, married to a mortal man and has a demi-demon daughter. This was confirmed, may I add… so… let's storm in and arrest a demon!" The one on the left said.

"Not slay it?"

"No, the mission is arrest to have a penalty afflicted upon her."

"Can we kill her and say it was a accident?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"I still have the spray bottle, so SHUT UP!"

"Fine…"

With that, they stormed in, discovered the demon as she finished talking to Equinox, promptly got the ever-living s*** beat out of them, after they found out Carmen had fled of course, and then started tracking her because they didn't feel like going back to their sector's base to be yelled at.

**That may be a problem.**

**At least now we've solved the whole "we may have forgotten to explain the contract" problem! **

**And now for the ads: U has posted a drawing of demon weapons on his devinart! There's a link on his profile, and while you're there check out his oneshot: A Demon's Heart! If you haven't read it yet, which I know you all did because you listen to everything I say, right? RIGHT?**

**If you're still reading, post this in the comments: "I worship this story and those who write it." Bye!**


	23. Just a Note From Scarlett

**Hey guys, it's Scarlett! Happy Halloween! I'm very sorry, but we will not be posting until tomorrow due to Halloween and other complications. I just wanted to let you guys know. Please don't kill me :(**

**But hey, all of you who told that you worshiped us made our day. Keep on showing support like that! **

**I'm just curious, what are you guys going to be for Halloween? I'm going as Katniss, and my costume is pretty fabulous. Tell me in the reviews, and we'll talk to you Friday!**


	24. A Little Chat

**And the chapter's late. Again.**

**It's pretty good, if I say so myself. And I reference a good book quote. **

"Fear me, mortal!" The storm called. I cursed and pulsed forward, praying my shoes were sturdy enough. I ran for blocks on end as snow whipped around me. The wind nearly made me fall, but I always caught myself. I kept on running until I saw something that made me stop: I was surrounded by frozen water.

I bit my lip and looked behind me at the storm. I had two choices: Run into the storm, most likely resulting in death, or skate across the water. I was deathly afraid of skating. I seriously considered picking the first one, but I figured it would be counterproductive. I sighed and took a deep breath. "You can do this, Carmen." I said aloud.

U laughed in the back of my mind. "You're going to fail!"

I narrowed my eyes. "I can do this, U. Ice isn't going to stop me." I stepped forward onto the ice and tensed up a bit. Under normal circumstances, I probably would've been able to do it. But with 60mph winds, it's hard. I rocked back and forth on my feet, desperately trying not to fall.

"Now skate, or are you too afraid?" The demon cackled. "Looks like little miss perfect has a flaw. Faster, girl, skate faster!"

The sentence processed and I froze. It was just like my dream! I shoved my hands into my pockets, searching for my phone. Suddenly, I couldn't move. Flashbacks of the nightmare zoomed past my eyes. I saw this same scene, just like it was in my dream.

A huge gust of wind pushed me and I toppled onto the ice. I must have skidded a pretty far distance, because the demon still hasn't caught up to me. I shakily got to my feet, but suddenly a portal opened up on the ground in front of me. I looked back at the rapidly approaching storm and decided getting caught was better than getting beat up. With all of my strength, I jumped feet-first into the swirling mass, tumbling through space to who-knows-where.

My head hit the floor and I groaned. My vision was blurry, but it slowly became clearer. I sat up and looked at the woman in front of me, expecting to find Equinox, but instead finding someone I was more afraid of: Scarlett.

"What is this?" I asked, feeling very annoyed at her for interrupting my fight. "If you didn't know, I was busy fighting a demon."

She laughed. "You call running away fighting? Excuse me for saving your life."

"I could've handled it." I mumbled.

"Listen, let's have a chat. Sit down, eat some blueberry muffins! You must be starving."

I looked at the food hungrily. "Stop bribing me."

"No bribes." She assured. "Just treats." I cautiously sat down and bit into one. "Why are you obsessed with these anyway?"

I sighed. "Before my brother stopped talking to us, he made blueberry muffins with me all the time. We used to go to a blueberry patch in our backyard. As soon as I became anorexic, though, he left. He didn't want to be associated with a disgusting freak like me. Now every time I look at these, I hear his voice telling me to stop starving myself. It's kept me from becoming anorexic again. They're delicious, too." I took another bite.

"Is everything a dramatic backstory with you?"

"I have a lot of issues." I shrugged.

She nodded. "Yeah, you do. You know who has issues? My new client, Mitch. What did you see in him?"

I slammed my fists onto the table. "He's perfect the way he is, you idiot!" Realizing what I said, I quickly covered my mouth with my hands.

She grinned. "You still love him, don't you?"

"No." I mumbled half-heartedly. She began to laugh. "Listen, I took your advice. We broke up and now he's sitting in some comfy apartment, being really angry at me. Not here, trying to play hero."

"Well..." She started.

"Scarlett." I said in a threatening tone.

"He may have just been brutally beaten, survived a demon surprise attack, and now watching Solstice as a mystical virus thought to be destroyed is fighting over control of Solstice's body, all without the protection of the locket?" She squeaked.

I rolled my eyes. "Was that really necessary?"

She put her hands up in defense. "It was U, not me, I swear."

"Sure." I said sarcastically. "Anyways, what did you need me for? Do I have to go rescue someone or something?" She nodded slowly. "How many people?"

"Um... About seven billion." She said.

My jaw dropped. "Scarlett, that's the whole world combined."

"Surprise!" She said weakly. "Hey, 'Saved the world' will look great on a résumé."

"If I don't die trying." I said. "Scarlett, why did you do this?"

"Hey, it's not that bad. If you save the world it will make up for the supposed kidnapping! Besides, you probably won't die. It's like a 50% chance of survival!" Her phone buzzed and she checked it. "Um... Bring that estimate to 15%." The phone buzzed again. "Oh, that was a typo. 5%..."

"Just stop now!" I yelled. She looked surprised. "Listen, whether I live or not I need to get something accomplished. What do I need to do?"

"Have you ever heard of the New Jersey devil?" I nodded. It was a common horror story when I was younger. "Well surprise, it's real. And Equinox may have just recruited it into her massive army… and probably planning on using its power as her own."

I groaned. "Why can't it be something simple for once? Like, maybe a cat stuck in a tree?"

"I can arrange that." I facepalmed. "So what you need to do: kill Equinox before she wakes up the devil."

"Isn't she, like, a demon? Won't that make her indestructible?"

"Not technically. There is a way to kill her."

"How?"

She seemed confused. "Do you honestly expect me to just give away all the information you need?"

"You've given away major plot points before."

"Stop!" She yelled. "ButtSaggington is on vacation, now I have to fix this! Alright, maybe I've messed up in the past. Heck, I'll probably mess up in the future. But you need to trust me: Find the way yourself. Now, I have one more thing to guide you."

I looked at the object she placed in my hand, then back at her. "This is a pen." (**Percy Jackson reference :D)**

"Not just any pen. It's both symbolic and powerful. When combined with the Chosen, it will become very powerful magic."

"Who's the Chosen?" I asked. "I'm assuming it's not me."

"Let's just say I was wrong about the whole relationship thing." She replied. "As for symbolism, it's letting you know that you're on your own. Write your own life, Carmen."

"What? You're so vague!" I said. "What do you mean I'm on my own?"

She began to disappear. "Oh, the pen is also a sword. Have fun fighting a demon!"

"Scarlett!" I called. "How do I write my own life?" She was gone before I finished talking.

Why did she always feel the need to dramatically fade out? I angrily paced around the room. Who was the Chosen? How was I going to save the world? What did she mean by write my own life?

I studied the pen in my hand. When I pressed the button, it turned into a sword. Very useful, I noted. I didn't understand its other uses, but a weapon was good. An idea came to mind but it sounded ridiculous. Then again, this was Scarlett's plan. Ridiculous might work...

I slowly lifted the pen and began writing on air. A trail of light followed me, and soon I had spelled out 'I returned to the real world.' I looked at my handiwork and frowned. How did I get it to work? Searching the pen, I found a button that said 'Enter'. I pressed it, and the scene changed to the words 'Document processing: This change may take up to thirty minutes to take effect.' I looked at it curiously until I felt my stomach turn and I blacked out.

I returned to the real world.

My face fell flat onto ice. I got up and looked around. I was in the same place as where I left, the same storm raging behind me. How interesting...Maybe…

I started to write in the air again, the golden letters shining as I wrote out "A few demon slayers like Solstice appear and kill the cloud thing."

It was then that I heard a loud crashing come from my left. Turning around, I pushedanother button on the pen and it turned into a sword. Two strangely dressed people came crashing through. Their clothes were covered in dirt, but they clothes struck me as strangely anime-ish. The wore white cloaks that had hood covering their faces, obscured by shadow. One appeared to have a white bow slung over his back, and both had sword that were a cobalt color attached where I imagined a belt was.

All the while, as I drank these details in, I heard the sounds of the storm getting closer and a voice yell, "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, MORTAL!"

"I hate le- oh, right." One of them began to protest but was cut off by a sharp jab in his stomach.

"Stay focused." The other scream-whisperd into his ear.

"Hi! We're demon slayers here to help. Mainly cause we failed to save you earlier and don't want to be yelled a- OW! Why'd you punch me?"

**U fixed this up and made it better, so thank him for correcting all my mistakes!**

**In the reviews, let us know how you think Carmen will use the pen. We're going to have a serious talk about the finale. **

**Two words: Character death :3**


	25. Shadows and Statues

**The chapter before the finale always makes me really sad! I'll have nothing to do with my life until I come up with an entirely new plot. **

**Plus we won't be working together any more. Anyways, here's the chapter before the finale!**

Disclaimer: There is some talk about God and angels in this chapter. It's not meant to offend anyone who doesn't believe in this stuff, it's just the religion these characters believe in. We apologize to anyone who doesn't believe in this.

_Equinox POV_

I stood before my army; my two servants beside me. There was chatter amongst the warriors, so I took the opportunity to speak with my servants. "Look at them. So many will fight for me."

"It's spectacular, mistress." Josh replied, holding my water as usual.

"Soon I won't need you. My statue hall is getting empty, I wonder how you'd look in it?"

Taylor, who occasionally broke free of the potion, looked at me in fear. "You wouldn't-" Her eyes snapped back to normal and she continued fanning me. "It'd be an honor, mistress."

I smirked. "Much better. Now, to call my warriors to attention." I stood up and yelled at the top of my lungs, "Listen up!" They all stopped talking and looked at me.

I slowly walked towards the edge of my platform. "You all know why you're here, right? This girl-" I snapped my fingers and an image appeared. "-is a threat to our existence. She and her little group of friends want us dead." Shouts erupted into the air. "Quiet! Now, I have one of her partners here, serving me as we speak. I think she'd make a nice edition to my Hall of Statues!" Cheers replaced shouts as I brought Taylor next to me. She stared off into space, probably not processing what was happening. I raised my fingers, ready to freeze her when a messenger burst into the room.

"Mistress Equinox! A demon has broken loose in New Jersey! She might destroy the state!"

I cackled. "The chaos has already begun! Who is this troublemaker?"

He bowed when he reached my feet. "Roseanne Harvey, m'aam. She was provoked and is now a raging storm, last time I checked."

"What made her so mad? Roseanne was always sensitive; a horrible trait for a demon. "

"A girl. She was talking about her daughter, and this lady angered her."

I looked at him curiously. "The name of this girl?"

"Uh.." He muttered something.

"Speak up before I cut your tongue!"

"It was Carmella Paige, mistress! She's in New Jersey being chased by the demon!"

I slammed my fist into the side of my chair. "What? Only I may murder her once and for all! Call off this demon!"

He shook his head. "We can't. Only fate decides what happens now." I dismissed him and began pacing.

Carmella was going to be killed by a demon. Unless she escaped, of course. But would that be good or bad? I could still finish the job, but if she beat one demon she had a slight chance at beating me. Granted, I had an entire army, but she would find a way.

Finally a soldier spoke up. "What do we do now?"

I considered my options. Roseanne wasn't tough to beat. From what I could tell, Carmella wouldn't let some random demon kill her and risk losing her friends. I figured I could let Carmen come to me. "The girl is smart enough to escape Roseanne." I began. "But dumb enough to rush an entire army alone! It would be a horrible decision to leave the comfort of our base. We have a huge advantage here: food, soldiers, a well-protected castle. Let us stay here and lure the prey!"

They all seemed to be in agreement. I watched as they started filing out of the room. "Wait!" I called. They turned to look at me. "We need strong defense. Double up on every position! Guard every entrance! Now!" They rushed out to their positions.

I smiled and turned to my servants. "Everything is going as planned. Soon, I'll have full power!"

Taylor's eyes went from foggy to clear. "You'll never win." She growled.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I will. And you, you've broken the spell ten times today. I feel like my statues need a new friend." She looked at me cautiously. "Josh, hold her." I commanded. He walked over and gripped her forcefully. She struggled against his strength. "Any last words?"

"This isn't the end." She warned. "Carmen will get you. And when she does, you'll be sorry." Then she stuck up her middle finger.

I turned her to stone in that position, leaving her eyes open so she'd see the destruction of her friends. I cocked my head, looking at the statue from a different angle. "You know, I feel like this will be a great addition to my collection. Josh, being her to the hall." He robotically carried her to the hall as I sat in my chair, considering the many ways to kill Carmella Paige.

_3rd Person POV_

Annette joined up with the rest of them minutes later, and they were all horrified.

Solstice was suspended in the air, covered in shadows that writhed all over his body. He himself, however, was perfectly still.

"What's wrong with him?" Adam asked, looking towards Jewels who was at Solstice's feet with her wisps nearby. After Annette had arrived, Jewels had apparently magically fixed everything and then made everyone turn around and walk away when they approached Solstice so they wouldn't notice.

"The shadow plague…" Jewels muttered, staring solemnly at Solstice.

"The what?" Jason said, staring at Solstice also. Only Jewels knew exactly what it was, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that something magical with the words shadow and plague in the name was bad news for anyone.

"The shadowplague. It was a large-scale epidemic disease in around 2006, created by a corrupted nymph who had become mortal due to a love who broke her heart. Said nymph sought out a demon called Kurisock, became an evil witch made of shadows, and years later after many events transpired, she obtained a dark relic and her darkness became contagious. **_(_**_**A/N: Book series reference. Purely coincidental that its name was the same until I relized it once I re-read that specific book)**_

"Fablehaven, the magical creature reserve this transpired in, was nearly destroyed by it. The plague spread, corrupting everything. The disease turned creatures of light ot creatures of darkness, altering their minds and how they viewed the world, mutating their appearances and powers.

"However, whenever humans were corrupted, their bodies became shadow outlines of their bodies and invisible to those unable to see dark magics. It was curable only by incredible sources of light magic, or if the source was destroyed." She stopped, breathing deeply as she gasped for air. She'd basically read a large report on rocket physics without pausing.

"So… why isn't Solstice invisible to us?" Asked Mitch, staring at him. Jewels turned around, and started looking around nervously.

"Ya, that's a good point. I still see him, he just looks like he's covered in shadows." Adam said, taking a bite out of a yellow apple which he had dubbed "Budder apple".

"Um… well, see…" Jewels stammered, trying to avoid the awkward question.

"We can't see dark auras or whatever, can we? " Annette said, her head tilted in question.

"Because if we can, why magically make it so everyone else walks away?" Blaze asked, further elating on the subject.

"It's because… well…" Jewels began, feeling pressured as she attempted to worm her way out of it.

"And according to what the guys told me, what did those demons mean when they were shouting about Solstice being the "demon slayers' commander"?" Asked Annette.

"It's because… well… He's an angel." She said.

"WHAT?!" Everybody shouted as Jewels gulped, preparing for the onslaught of questions and shocked protest.

"He's an angel?"

"But.. what.."

"Why doesn't he have wings?" Asked Blaze, speaking above everyone else.

"And on that, if this thing mutates things and makes them evil or whatever, why isn't Solstice a demon or something?" Mitch added, squinting at Solstice.

"Well, to answer Blaze's question… Solstice isn't, in most meanings of the word, a mortal. He's virtually immortal, and quite frankly most humans would break out into cheers of joy or something crazy at the sight of a human with white wings who is basically floating in the air. How would you react? EVERY angel on the mortal planet hides their wings."

"Every angel?" Adam said, eyebrows raised.

"Well, ya. There's around 10 thousand angels on Earth, and a tenth of those are demons to answer your question, Mitch…" She paused, taking in a shaky breath."The thing is… angels are not inherently aligned with good or evil, light or darkness. That they are yes, sided with good and light, but you must also understand that they align themselves with a certain element. Ice, fire, water, lightning, air, and everything else in existence. In the case of the shadowplague, which realigns beings of light to beings or darkness and mutating their form often or not, has no effect on angels. The quite simply absorb it all and convert it into their own unique brand of magic. This is not purely because they can be called neutral beings; but also because of the minds of angels: How God created them.

"Angels' minds are very incorruptible and uninfluenced. They will make their own decisions, take orders, and process everything around them exactly how it is, and they accept it as they do. They can be influenced, and convinced, or have their opinions changed, but mind control and total dominance over their minds is impossible. The mind altering part of the shadowplague has no effect on them therefore, and if it WOULD have a effect on them, it won't. Angels can only become truly evil and altered in the way the shadowplague works if they choose to become a demon and align themselves with satin, which is null and void for angels; whom will only willingly do so. Not because of a disease.

"However, Solstice… Solstice is different. He has essentially aligned himself with everything. Including darkness, which was against his will. The doomsday demon called Sailacane, whom was without form, was trapped in Equinox's original blade by her will. She had to destroy Solstice, and she had to kill Sailacane. So her logical action was to due something she believed would get rid of them both in one foul swoop. She therefore tricked Solstice into meeting her in a private place where he could "Go missing" and never be found, and after her speech to try and convince him to join her, she stabbed him in one of the few vital organs an angel has. He lost consciousness, fell off a cliff in which Equinox had lured him to, and awoke several hours later the sword gone from his chest where she had left it and his wound healed. That was the thing… injecting Solstice with a world-ending energy of an extremely powerful demon who no one believed could safely be put in anyone.

"But he lived, because of his form-altering infinite energy. Everything that Sailacane is was in that sword, and Solstice absorbed it all. Everything... Including his mind. Solstice had Sailacane's powers that he calls Ragnorok. Before Solstice sealed up the mind and conscious of Sailacane, he took control of Solstice's body multiple times, once nearly destroying the world. That was last year, in fact…"

"2012 WAS supposed to be doomsday?" Jerome asked, staring at the body. It might have been his mind playing tricks on him, but Jerome could've sworn his eyes were suddenly glowing red and the shadows were fading.

"Yes, it would've been if the slayers hadn't gotten the divine council of heaven to interfere and re-seal him. But what I've been meaning to say is… this much darkness would instantly go to one of the only source of it in Solstice's body: Ragnorok. Therefore, his body will most likely relinquish control to…

"_**Me."**_ A loud, ominous voice said. Everybody turned around to stare at Solstice, who had just touched the floor, the shadows now gone from his body and his eyes glowing red. They all stared, wide-eyed in horror as black shadows with red outlines erupted around a large spear which he grabbed and, much to their surprise, leaned on instead of attacking them with.

"_**Ah, Jewels, how good it is to see you. Must have been less then a century since the last time I was in control?" **_He smirked, drinking up everything.

"Less then a year." Jewels growled.

"_**Oh, you're worried about your little BOYFREIND aren't you?"**_

"He..isn't.. my boyfriend!" Jewels growled, clenching her fists. Her cheeks were a light red. Sheeeee was blushing.

"_**Reeeeally. I saw what happened last year on top of the Aztec temple, ya know. I hadn't slipped into unconsciousness just yet at that time."**_ He teased, the smirk still on his face.

"You couldn't ha- wait how did you know about..GAH, not important! You had better diminish your control on Solstice now!" She proclaimed, her face turning a deep red color.

"_**I couldn't right now even if I WANTED TO!"**_ He laughed, and enjoyed watching Jewels who looked like she was on the edge of breaking off into a rant and raging._** "His consciousness is off talking to some divine entity no culture or religion even know EXIST or something again. Probably the core, 6 out of 10 times he talks to the core in a moment like this. My time is almost up…" **_He said, fake looking at a watch. _**"So now, I issue a warning. That Carmen person or whoever? Kinda hard to tell when accessing Solstice's memories but… Point is, the demon Roseanne Harvey is chasing her with a vengeance."**_

From the corner of the hallway, someone gasped. Sailacane just laughed when he heard it.

"_**Ah, there's the confirmation I needed. Demi-demons… I can sense them from miles away. Back to the topic at someone else's hand, however! She isn't defenseless however. She has a sword, and 2 demon slayers are currently with her. The bad news about this is these two demon slayer just so happen to be the most idiotic ANYTHINGS in history, and will most likely die with her. And even if they actually live, Carmen plans on charging headfirst into the largest demon army EVER! Even larger than my old one, and hers is still growing! So now, Goodbye and screw you."**_

With that, he bowed and the red glow of his eyes returned to Solstice's blue. He got back into a normal position with a confused look in his eyes.

"Why was I bowing, feel like a jerk, sense a demi-demon around a corner, and suddenly have a spear in my hands?"

**Isn't it nice knowing you were supposed it die a year ago?**

**Why yes, it is. In the reviews, let us know if you're excited for the finale and what you expect to see!**

**If you read this, tell us who you want to be killed off first :p**


	26. Finale: Part One- Megan's Return

**It's finale time! You are officially reading part one of three(we think.)  
**

**I got braces on today and they hurt. Good thing I wrote my part yesterday!**

**And just so you know, we did NOT forget about Megan. She's officially back this chapter!**

I woke up to silence. In case you didn't know, when you live in an apartment with three other girls there's never silence. Ever.

I knew Carmen had been missing for a while, so that was one less person to make noise. Taylor was kidnapped, which left me with Annette. As much as I liked her, she wasn't really the quiet type. I checked my clock; it was ten o'clock on a Saturday. She usually didn't sleep in because she wanted to go shopping. I ran to the bathroom and no one was there. As if the silence was weird, an open bathroom was next to impossible. Shrugging, I decided to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

After taking a long, relaxing shower, I dried my hair off and changed into a t-shirt. There was still no Annette to be found. I went through my daily morning routine of shoveling sugary cereal into my mouth, feeling guilty and eating an apple, and then brushing my teeth. By then it was 11. I decided to stare at a wall to cure my boredom.

"I can't take this!" I yelled to no one in particular after ten minutes. "I'm. So. Boooooored."

No one responded, but was I really expecting someone to? I got up and huffed, feeling tired and cranky. I decided to go see if Annette had left any clues as to where she had gone. Besides, and you can call me a stalker, reading her diary was hilarious.

Her room was neat and orderly to the point where it made me laugh. A picture of my room came into mind, with shirts strewn all over the floor. I reached under her mattress and grabbed her diary, looking for the most recent entry. I found one dated 2/10, which was today. It read:

I'm really worried about Carmen. She's been gone for a long time. I'm worried she's sick, or even worse: dead. Why did she go after Equinox on her own? More importantly, why wasn't I there helping her? I'm such a horrible friend. The guys are making noises now, I'm going to go check on them.

That must be where she went! I needed a human being to talk to aside from myself, so I decided to go find her. As I opened the door, I realized it was silent out here as well. The protesters were even gone (I had told them weeks ago that Carmen was gone, they didn't believe me). Curiously, I stepped into the hall and gasped.

Massacre. That was the first word that came to mind. Debris was thrown across the hallway. It looked like a war scene, with explosion marks to prove it. How had I slept through this? I slowly walked forward, looking at the boys' doorless room. Something had blown it up... I turned and looked at half the door. It was crushing a dead body. Or so I thought.

I gently poked the girl with my foot. She bolted upright. "What happened? How long have I been here?"

I bent down next to her. "Honey, it's okay. Just breathe." She took a deep breath. "Now, who are you? What's your name?"

"Olivia." She said. "Olivia Harvey."

I nodded. "Good. Now, do you remember why you're here?"

"I think..." She said. "I had something important to tell someone. Something that could save someone else's life. But I don't remember who."

"That's okay." I said soothingly. "Do you know anything about what happened before you blacked out?"

"I was walking." She said, seeming unsure. "I had important news for someone who lived around here. I remember a crash. Five boys screamed and ran out here. Then I saw a man." She began to shake. "Demon. He was a demon. He flung the door at me."

I hugged her. "Shh... It's alright. Let's go back to my apartment and let you rest."

She nodded and I helped her up. We hobbled back to my apartment and I let her lie down. I gave her a cool washcloth and she smiled in appreciation. "Thanks for all your help, um... What's your name?"

"Megan." I said. Her eyes widened.

"I think I remember what I needed to do. Do you know Carmen Paige?"

"She lives here." I said, not sure if this girl was joking or not.

"I need to speak to her. Can you get her for me?"

My expression became saddened. "Olivia, Carmen's been missing for  
weeks."

Her eyes seemed angry. "She left? I told her not to!"

This girl must be crazy. How on Earth did she know Carmen? Calling her insane wasn't the best way to go about things, so I played along. "I'm sure you did. She doesn't listen to anyone, don't take it personally. Now, what did you have to tell her?"

"Oh, I didn't need to talk to her. I need to talk to her friends."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Didn't you say- You know what, never mind." I said, not feeling like arguing. She probably had a concussion and couldn't think straight. "What do you need to tell me? I'm her friend."

She sat up and looked me straight in the eyes. "Carmen's in danger. My mother, Roseanne Harvey, is keeping her captive. She's going to be turned in to Equinox! We have to save her!"

I had a choice to make. Did I believe this crazy stranger, or ignore her and tend to her health instead? "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Simple." She said confidently. "Since one of my parents is a demon, I'm a Demi-demon. I just found out at Christmas break, actually, but I think I've got a pretty good handle on my powers. Watch this!"

She took my hand and closed her eyes. After muttering words I didn't understand, she slowly faded away. I watched in awe as she morphed into another form. Me. It was a carbon copy.

"Equinox could do that..." I said, believing her about the powers. "How do I know you don't work for her?"

She laughed. You think I'd work for her? She's a spoiled brat who thinks she can take over the world! But if you really want proof..." She waved her hands and an image of Carmen appeared. She was hiking through the cold with two men. I watched as Olivia enlarged Carmen's pocket and made it see-through. "Do you see that token? It says Harvey on it. I gave it to her for good luck. It gives her special powers, though I'm not quite sure what it does specifically for her."

"How do I know this is real?"

"Megan!" She said, sounding exasperated. "I can't prove every detail about my life. I need you to trust me."

I sighed. What other choice did I have? "Why are you so desperate to help Carmen, anyways?"

Her expression looked painful. "She's saving my true love. When Josh broke my heart, it crushed me. He was too obsessed with Carmen, I should have known. But alas, I was a teenager who no one paid attention to. Having someone who had romantic interest in me made me let my guard down."

I nodded. "I understand. Adam makes me act differently sometimes, even though he'd never hurt me. I trust you, Olivia. Now, how are we going to save Carmen yet again?"

"Don't forget Mitch, Jason, Blaze, Adam, Jerome, and Annette." She added.

"What?" I asked.

"I think they were the guys running out of the apartment. As for Annette, I remember waking up temporarily and seeing a girl panicking. I'm not positive it was her, but it's worth a try."

I looked at her curiously. "How do you know all this stuff?"

"Mind reading, you know." She shrugged. "Demon."

"Okay then." I said. "Now, we're off on our epic quest to... Where, exactly?"

"New Jersey."

I coughed. "What? That's on the other side of the country."

"Yeah, I know." She said. "Let's go!"

"How are we going to get there?"

She rolled her eyes. "Megan, trust me. I got this."

I didn't like the sound of that.

_Solstice POV_

"So Sailacane resurfaced." I growled, tossing the spear in the air. Annette and Blaze tried to step away, but it simply vanished into purple sparks."Hate him. So much. Even when he had his body and I had to fight him, it wasn't _Ragnorok _that was hard, but his jack-ass attitude."

"Ya, but onto the point: YOU'RE A ANGEL?!" Jerome proclaimed suddenly, trying to learn more for the fifth time. They had gathered in my room, which instead of the college dorm room was now white marble with a tiled floor. Weapons hung on the walls, and gravity and physics apparently were broken on a daily basis, since when Blaze had stepped in he floated to the ceiling. Still amusing. Brushing off Jerome's comment, I looked around the room trying to find what I needed. Jewels grabbed a large amythest and shoved it in her pocket, and I hopped into the air when I saw what I was looking for. Grabbing the white cylinder, I landed on my feet with a soft thud. I tossed it onto a table where multiple objects and notes lay and turned my attention back to them.

"Ok, listen up. Judging by what you just told me, we need to make haste to New Jersey. You saw what I just had, right? It's a inter-dimensional space rift portal opening device. It connects this world with the old world, and its many continents and nations, and everything in between. Normally, I wouldn't use this.. but this isn't ordinary."

I picked a small orb that showed Earth. I threw it forwards, and it paused where it was visable to everyone, before immediately slowly spinning on its axis.

"This is a very rare artifact I brought back with me from the old world. It is one-of-a-kind in this dimension, and I trust you NOT TO BREAK IT. It's a important tool."

I pointed a finger at it, which began to glow at the tip, and the continents on earth slowly reformed into one, small islands joining it and a large landmass appearing out of the ocean. I grinned, memories of beating carnivorous dinosaurs up when my body and mind were similar to a toddler's.

"This is Earth Billions of years ago. However…"

Everything slowly vanished, until all that was left was ocean. Then new continents, islands appearing, the earth molten, the orb shaking, until it settled in with a entirely different geographic setting than earth.

"This is the old world, called so because.. well.. it's the first. Nameless horrors, tales of tragedy and war that would make all of Earth's world wars look like tea parties, empires the likes of which are unknown to many. None know of everything this land has to offer, nor how old it is. Its age would be taken in approximation of Earth's times Earth again. Its size is so large that it could fit a few hundred Jupiters in it if hallowed out. No one knows who created it, and it is widely belieived all of the elder beings combined their might – the core, the darkness, Ghariuhaf, Aisfhdaum, and many many more. Many of whom are now dead or forgotten. I don't wish to divulge everything about it, but just see those islands? Those are the size of North America. It is irrelevant to why I'm showing you this. In times of dire need most have traveled in between to instantly teleport. Point is…"

I picked up the cylinder and threw it in the air. A portal opened.

"I know you all have questions." I said, looking at them with their jaws open in surprise.

"But you just need to get Carmen, I'll join you shortly, and Jewels will go with you. No matter what, DON'T STEP OUTSIDE OF THE WORMHOLE YOU'LL BE INSIDE OF. You'll end up in who knows what time period, and I don't even want to consider WHERE."

They all walked through, their eyes showing they were dumbstruck by what had just happened. Jewels waited till they had all gone in, and before she stepped in, she stopped and turned to me, her brown eyes filled with concern.

"Solstice, this is a lot for them to bear. And are you ready to fight and kill your own sister?"

I sighed, the tension in my shoulders being relaxed when I pulled out my bow and fired energy arrows at a target floating through the air.

"I have to be. No matter what. She's going to destroy EVERYTHING…. I won't let her. Even if I doom myself to die shortly after…"

I pulled out a small, white pocket sized book., with a cracked cover that looked like a sword had tried to cut it in half, the only thing ruining the whiteness being dried bloodstains on the back and cover.

"But Solstice, The book may be the recorded accumulation of everything any version of you has ever encountered…"

"Yes, I'm calling the slayers to war."

**War and fighting and stuff. We aren't even to the dramatic fight stuff and I'm not liking the mention of war :3**

**We are going to try to update ASAP for the finale, but good writing takes time. **

**In the comments, leave me a sympathy note for my pain! Just kidding. The actual question is: Who do you think will find Equinox first and what will they do? **

**See you next update with some action!**


	27. The Super Long Finale Part Two: To War!

**Well, we've worked on a long one this time. Sorry for the wait!**

**"Long" is a under-stating it scarlet. This is nearly TWICE as long as our previous longest. **

**Well, yeah, I guess. **

**Just read and watch as your jaws drop as I eat potato chips!**

My legs felt heavy as I trudged forward. The demon slayers behind me complained about the walk for the whole way there. After the one hundredth complaint, and I'm not even kidding, I lost it. "Shut up!" I yelled. "We have been walking for a measly three miles, and you guys didn't have to run from a crazy demon before this! I'm tired and cold, too, but I'm not complaining!"

They looked at me with shock. "No one ever said she was going to be feisty." One, who I think was named Teriun, muttered. I ignored him and turned around, my arms across my chest. Was this really how I wanted to spend the days before I most likely died?

Finally, we reached the bus stop. I looked on the schedule and saw that we had another fifteen minutes to kill. "Guys, I'm going to make a video for my YouTube channel." I said. "You need to get out of the way so no one knows I'm with you."

They nodded. If they could successfully take orders, this might not be as bad as I thought. I pulled out my phone and hit record. Putting a smile on my face, I began speaking.

"Hey guys, GoldenFlame here! I have some really bad news. I am actually unable to continue making videos because... uh... Something's come up. Now, I will keep this channel open, but please don't pester me about why I'm leaving YouTube. It's for my own personal reasons that I'm not telling you. Don't annoy my friends either, they don't know why I'm leaving.

"On a happier note, thank you guys for always being here. Whenever I'm sad I look at your wonderful comments and smile. You guys have really changed my life for the better. I love you all, from my first few subscribers to those who just subscribed. Thanks for being amazing." I choked up a bit on the last part. "This has been GoldenFlame, and for the last time I'm signing out. Maybe I'll see you later, Embers." I pressed stop and began sobbing uncontrollably.

The demon slayers came up to me. "What's wrong?"

I looked up with a tearful look in my eyes. "YouTube means a lot to me, and I just had to quit it. What will my subscribers think? I'll never have told them what happened."

One of them, who's name was Felis, looked sympathetic. "We had to leave a lot behind to become demon slayers."

"Yeah, but you are practically immortal. I'm mortal, and have a 5% chance of survival."

Teriun raised his eyebrows. "Who told you that?"

"My crazy ex-conscious." I said. "She really doesn't like me."

I watched them exchange glances. "Don't worry, Carmen. With us here you'll be safe." Felis said confidently.

The bus rolled up to the sidewalk. I hoped they were right. Honestly, they seemed nice and all, but they weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. I climbed on board and payed the fee. Sitting down in my seat, I looked at the bus schedule. We could hop onto different busses as far as Yonkers. Then we'd have to figure out where Equinox was on our own.

"Do we have any clue where to find Equinox?" I said to them quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to us.

Teriun shrugged. "We weren't actually prepared for tracking."

"Isn't that what your job is?" I asked.

"Not this particular one." Felis said. "Actually, we were supposed to-"

"Just let it go." Teriun said.

I nodded slowly. "Okay then... What exactly is our plan?" Neither of them answered. "Aren't we in good shape?" I muttered.

We came up with absolutely nothing. By the time we got on the fourth bus we were half an hour away from New York City. I looked out my window and saw the Statue of Liberty. I couldn't see well, but it looked nice against the sunset. Wait a minute. Sunset? I checked my watch and saw that it was 7:30. That was an issue.

"Guys!" I said and they looked at me. "It's 7:30."

"So?" Teriun asked.

"The sun's setting and it will be night soon."

Felis looked at me with a blank expression. "I don't get it."

"We have no idea where Equinox is, limited money, no food, and nowhere to sleep!"

"Oh." Teriun said. "That's a problem."

"Duh! What do we do?"

Felis shrugged. "Roam the streets until we find something?"

We didn't have another plan, so there I was, 8:30 at night, walking around New York and freezing. "You guys want hot chocolate?" I offered. They nodded and we went into a café. They were about to close, but we got our orders in time. While sipping my drink, I looked at a sign on the wall and froze. It was a wanted poster. I wouldn't normally care that much, but it had a striking resemblance to me. What I used to look like, anyways.

I tapped Teriun on the arm and pointed. "We have a problem."

He set down his drink. "Is that your sister? She looks a lot like you."

I facepalmed. "No, genius, it's me! We need to get out of here." We got up to leave, but someone stopped us.

"Girl, come here."

I slowly turned around and walked towards the voice. "How may I help you, sir?"

He was silent for a minute, then laughed. "Don't be afraid! I just wanted to ask about your jacket. Where did you get it? My daughter would love that."

"Oh." I eased up a bit. "I bought it at Ginny's. It's this little store in New Jersey."

"Thanks." He said. I began to walk away. "Wait a minute... You look like that girl on that poster. Carmella Paige, is it?"

"It's Carmen!" I said out of habit. **(I feel like I've written that a hundred times!) **"I mean..."

"Security!" He yelled.

I grabbed the other two and flew out of café. We charged down the street, police chasing after us. I must have run for twenty minutes before we lost them. I let go of the guys and sat down on the chilly pavement. "I think the nationwide search for me has begun."

Felis was breathing heavily even though I did most of the running. "I'll say. Can't you come up with a fake name or something?" I glared at him. "Sorry."

I pulled my hood over my head. "Let's keep walking this way. Hopefully we won't draw attention again."

I loved New York, I have to say. You could walk down the street at 9pm with two guys in weird costumes with weapons and no one would look at you. We walked like this for another three hours.  
I began shivering and shoved my hands into my pockets. The token felt cold. Finally, I spotted something up ahead.

"It's the Statue of Liberty!" I said.

"Is that a castle?" Teriun asked. Sure enough, a giant castle was raised next to it.

"Let's go!" I said, beginning to run but stopping. "Where'd it go?"

"What do you mean?" Felis asked.

I shrugged and put my hands in my pockets again. The castle flashed before my eyes and I gasped. "Whenever I touch this token, I see it!"

Felis took the token and examined it. "This is magic token. It gives you the Sight." He handed it back to me.

I frowned. "The Sight?" Where had I heard that before? They had already started, so I ran to catch up to them.

We reached the castle in five minutes. Hiding behind a bush, we looked at the entrance. "There it is." Teriun said. "No guards or anything."

"Isn't there traps?" I asked.

Felis shook his head. "Not really Equinox's style. She'll lure you in and kill you." I gulped.

Teriun checked my watch. "It's 12:01! Happy February 11th!"

"Man, I can't believe it's already February. Two months into the year?"

My jaw dropped. February 11th. Two months in. Always waking up at 2:11. "Crap." I muttered. I didn't know what this meant. "Alright, I'm going in."

"What?" They both said.

"I... Uh... Need you guys to guard the entrance. Keep me safe, you know?" I didn't want to bring then along as they weren't the smartest. They argued for a while but finally gave in. I waved and stepped into my certain doom.

I snuck into the throne room, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. This could go perfectly, or I could fail miserably. I peered ever so slightly around the corner at her. She sat atop a ginormous throne, having Josh feed her. I took a deep breath and stepped into the open.

"Equinox..." I said with as much strength as I could. "I believe you were looking for me?"

She bolted upright at the sound of my voice. "You." She sneered. "Is Carmella Paige defeated?"

"Depends on if you accept my offer." I said mischievously. I wasn't letting her get the best of me.

"Offer? How curious." She said, sounding very intrigued. "Continue."

"I have a bargain. You let my friends go, and I'll stay here. No battling, no death. You don't even need to drug me."

She laughed. "Ha! As if I would trust you! Besides, you're just afraid you're going to lose if we battle! I'm a demon, puny mortal, and I can kick your ass!"

"Why haven't you?" I said innocently. "You left as soon as Josh was defeated. And it's been over two months, you haven't come for me. Admit it, you're scared of something."

"You would be a top-notch jester! I'm not scared of you. The only advantage you have isn't here right now. I have a deal for you: I don't kill you, and you be my slave!"

"You know, I liked my deal bett-"

"Guards!" She roared. "Take her away."

"Teriun! Felis!" I called, knowing they weren't coming. I struggled against their grip, but I couldn't do it. "Wait a minute. What advantage?"

The guards pulled me away before she answered. I gave up trying to fight them and let my body go limp. They dragged me to a cage and shoved me inside. Equinox walked up to the bars and laughed.

"You could have at least let my friends go." I said. "What use to they have to you?"

"Well, Josh is a great servant. And Taylor makes a wonderful addition to my statues."

"You didn't!" I reached out to smack her but missed.

"Have fun rotting, mortal! I can't wait to finish you off!"

I yelled out every curse word I knew as she left.

_Some time later…_

I growled in frustration. How long had I been in here? And who knew how long it would be until Equinox did whatever she had planned…

"Hey! You!" Standing up and walking to the edge of my cell, I looked at a demon who walked by. He was wearing black robes with red outlines, and large leathery bat wings that were folded up on his back. In one hand he held a large, black, ornate axe that glowed a soft blue. He groaned, facing me, as he clenched his face with his other hand. To my horror, he had a large, horrible scar that looked like a claw mark when he removed it.

"WHAAAAT." He groaned, staring at me with a pissed off look on his face.

"Why didn't Equinox straight out kill me?"

He actually chuckled a bit. "Wow, that's a dumb question, Carmen."

I stared at him dumbfounded. How had he learned my name? Unless Equinox was already bragging to everyone in her army about catching me. Seems like something she would do.

"Haha! Oooh funny… No, she didn't do any of those things you were about to say."

I dropped my mouth dumbfounded for a moment, before remembering that he was a demon. He was probably reading my mind.

"You're re-"

"Nope, not mind reading. Future sight."

"What?"

"Combine soul vision with future sight, and you get headaches once every few minutes."

"Ok then.. well.. why hasn't Equinox killed me yet? I figured she'd do it the second she threw me in here."

"The extent of what you know about Equinox is she's a spoiled, bratty, ultra-powerful demon with impossible amounts of revenge right?Well, you don't know anything."

I thought that over for a second. To the extent of my knowledge, that was exactly what she was, except he left out arrogant and insane. "Yeah, that basically sums up my experience with her."

"Well, you're sadly mistaken. " He groaned and put his hand to his head again, and then started talking. "You're also going to ask why she's had two months yet not caught you until now, and why today is somehow such a important date?"

Ok, maybe he could see into the future. I had barely started to think about those questions.

"Equinox is cruel and evil personified. She quite literally has no mental or physical capability to feel love, unlike most demons, who can if they want to. She is cold and calculating, and if she didn't take revenge on you after a few days, its because she is both bound by her contract and intigrated her revenge into her plans. Judging by what I know and have glimpsed, she's going to capture all of your friends and use them as sacrifices, splattering their blood, using their souls as energy, etc etc, after your torture of watching this happen is over and she torments you a bit more. She's doing this to free herself of the banishment her brother placed on her during the Civil War… on this exact date. She's so old that she grew up alongside DINOSAURS. She witnessed God create Adam and Eve, watched them eat the forbidden fruit, and watched as the events of the bible unfolded before her. Your friends are actually _outside at this moment."_

"What?!" I said, nearly bolting through the cage door. How did they find me? I had ran away to protect them from this! I wouldn't let them throw their lives away, trying to save mine!

"Ooooo ya, they're doomed. They have a few slayers with them, but do they really think…" He paused, squinting, as he groaned in pain and rubbed his head. "Dear satin, those two? A half-elf, anthropomorphic cat person, whom are the most notoriously IDIOTIC and INCOMPETANT duo to exist… and JULIA ARDEN ITENYM? The lietenant of the demon slayers, demi-god daughter of the queen of ne'argithem, first in line to the throne?" He started muttering to himself, but then laughed.

"Ok, sorry, just ignore my mad ramblings. Enjoy the last few hours of your exitance. ALL HAIL THE BLACK EQUINOX MASK!" He walked off again, and I heard metal scraping against bars and a indignant cry of "Stop that!"

I had to get out… I couldn't let them do this… I wouldn't!

_3__rd__ person POV_

_Earlier_

"Teriun! Felis!" The two of them looked at each other.

"Not good."

"Nope."

"Plan R1 or R2?"

"Im going R2."

Groaning, Felis looked towards the large ominous castle.

"So were going to try to fight our way though, fail in a comical matter, and then have to go super-mode?"

This time, it was Teriun who groaned at the mention of "super mode". Teriun had no idea why Felis constantly referred to him using his natural elf capabilities or Felis using his hidden tail and feline instincts. Honestly, it was a bit annoying.

"DON'T. MODE." Teriun shouted, causing birds to scatter. They had no idea where the birds at come from, or how they had first arrived at the castle entrence which was near the Statue of Liberty which was on an island, but they could care less about how they broke the laws of physics and reality on a common basis.

"We really need a plan. Don't give me any of your over-exited Bull you only think of because you watch too much anime."

"So no charging in looking epic in a suicide rescue mission we will somehow survive?"

"No! Actually…. Maybe." They both looked at each other, nodded, and held their right hands up to their faces. A glowing white shape appeared on their heads, and when they removed their hands, the mask were there.

They had been prepared to storm in epicly in a suicide attempt: However, at this very moment, a portal opened behind them and out ran all whom at entered in Solstice's room. Jewels was dress in her slayer gear, and she turned around and threw a dagger made from solid onyx in. A roar of pain was heard, and the portal closed.

The two of them instantly straightened out in a panic when they saw the symbol on the back of Jewels' clothes.

"L-lieutenant Jewels!" They said in unison, saluting. Jewels looked up in shock; however, the emotion she was currently feeling was obscured by the mask.

"Felis? Teriun? Um… any reason why you two are standing here. In front of Equinox's doomsday base. Lair of destruction. You two. Here. Instead of anybody else." She said, rather bluntly, only slightly trying to conceal the levels of shock at finding the two most incomeptant and idiotic slayers in HISTORY at a situation where you'd expect multiple branches of the slayers to be camping.

"Um… well.."

"Failed our current mission, and we…"

"trailed Carmen…"

"Carmen?" Mitch said, walking towards them. "WHERE IS SHE?" He shouted, shaking Felis. Or was it Teriun?

"Um.. inside. And we think she just got captured or something."

"Lieutenant, you can't seriously be thinking about going in… THERE." He said, gestering towards the entrence.

"You'd be playing straight into her hands! _FELIS_ knows not to, and he'd make some of the most professional psychiatrist in of this age cry from his sheer stupidity!"

"'Scuse me, but most of us are confused by this sudden escalation of events!" Blaze said, speaking up.

"Blaze, this is no time for long winded speeches. We need a plan before Solstice arrives."

"SUPREME COMMANDER SOLSTICE?" The two slayers said in a surprised unison. Among the lesser ranks, solstice was a living legend. The angel form which hope and purity radiated: Light incarnate. The chapion of the core; The one whom has saved everything in existence from ebing destroyed literally countless times; The one personl angel army. He had saved kingdoms from extinction, witnessed every momentful event on earth, braved more of the old world than one would think possible, and infinitely more rumors and titles. One slayer said he had apparently thrown a T-rex into space as a toddler, which wasn't unbelievable. The most confirmable rumors that floated around were solstice being the creator of the slayers and him apparently being one of the original angels.

"Yes, Solstice is here. He's initiating Omega-delta-alpha . " She said, looking around.

"You mean He's-"

"Yes, he is."

Meanwhile, the others had been trying to figure out what this conversation was, because they weren't actually speaking in English, but elf due to reason beyond currenty understanding.

Meanwhile, U watched this from above, lazily sitting on a cloud eating potato chips.

Let's see what good 'ol Solstice is doing, eh?" He smirked, holding up a remote. He clicked a button, a-

_Solstice POV_

I had 12 blue spheres set up, and 480 green ones. I looked around at the intriguing pattern, and decided I had done it correctly. It had been 3 centuries since I'd done this. I began chanting:

"Open the seals to power,

No holding it all back,

I, Solstice, current supreme commandor of the demon slayers,

Hereby release the chains that seal the slayers of demonic entities

And by my divine right,

I call the slayers to war

We, the ones who keep mortals ignorant and safe

We, whom chose not to sit by

Humans, angels, anthropomorphic beings, entities, and more

All in existence knows

I CALL THE SLAYERS TO WAR!"

As soon as I finished, the orbs rose into the air, each glowing. They began floating around, forming a orbit around me as I stood awaiting it all. Slowly images of people appeared, and just as slowly orbs started to shatter.

"Solstice!"

"Sir!"

"Did he just-"

"SILENCE!" I roared, earning everyone's attention.

"All of you, current leaders of the individual units: I have indeed just released our full power. I have called us to war to face a threat worse than Sailacane, worse than Garthriel, worse than any threat we have ever faced before."

"EQUINOX HAS RETURNED!" I shouted, earning shocoked murmers and cries of outrage.

"I AM CALLING US ALL TO WAR! GATHER EVERY SOLDIER, INITIATE, ELITE, AND MEMBER YOU HAVE UNDER COMMAND! Today, TODAY, we charge the largest army in history; We start a siege upon her base; TODAY WE STOP HER FROM DOOMING EVERYTHING TO HER WRATH!"

This earned a uproar of cheers and battcries.

"The crystals shall shortly reappear: and they will lead you to where you must be."

At that, the images vanished, and the crystal orbs reappeared. I waved my hand and they all turned into energy that converted to a single mass. I picked it up and put in my jacket.

_Megan POV_

Olivia grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. "We need to find a quiet place where no one can see us." She said.

"See us do what?" She was starting to freak me out.

"Don't worry about it." She proceeded to pull me into a dark alleyway.

Now, I'm not a complete idiot. When a stranger pulls you into a dark alleyway, your best option is to kick them and run. But, to be honest, I could easily overpower Olivia if she tried to mug me. As long as she didn't try any demon magic on me.

"Alright, what do we need to do?" I asked. The sooner we found Carmen the better.

She thought for a moment. "Where do you think the best place to go would be?"

"Carmen's house." I said. "If she's in New Jersey she's probably there."

Olivia nodded. "I think I remember where that is. Okay, I need you to grab my arm."

"What are we doing?"

"Trust me." She said. I reluctantly grabbed her hand. "Now think about the place you want to go."

"Will this really-"

"Just do it!" She demanded. "Are you thinking?" I nodded. "Good. Now, get ready!"

"Get ready for what?" I asked, but she didn't have time to answer. The world began swirling around me and I felt sick to my stomach. My head pounded from the pressure. I was sure I was going to die- And them it was all gone. I tumbled onto the ground, my head colliding with something hard.

I lay there for a minute, feeling too weak to get up. "Did I kill another one?" Olivia kicked me.

"Ow." I groaned, running my side and sitting up. "Was that needed?"

"Yes." She grinned. "This doesn't look like Carmen's house, though."

I got to my feet and looked around. "It's so dark already. What time is it on the East Coast?"

Olivia checked her phone. "If it's 4:45 our time, it'd be 7:45 here."

I began to shiver. "It's really cold here."

Olivia looked at me. "Did you grow up in California?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That explains it. You do realize it's only 45 degrees? Look, the snow is melting."

My eyes widened. "It is really cold."

She put a hand around me. "You really wouldn't survive a winter here. This is actually quite warm. C'mon, let's go to my house and grab a jacket."

I held her hand and thought of her house. The nausea wasn't as bad this time, and I even landed on my feet. What really surprised me, though, was that I found her house in shambles. "Nice house." I told her.

Her jaw dropped. "What happened?"

I shrugged. "Didn't you say your mom had Carmen?"

"Not at our HOUSE. Why did Carmen come to my house?"

We heard a groan and Olivia started panicking. "That's my dad! Dad?" She called. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" A muffled voice cried painfully. "Olivia, is that you?"

She ran over and picked through the rubble, me close behind her. I observed the scene, and it reminded me of our apartment hallway. Though the word massacre didn't really come to mind. Hey, maybe I was getting less dramatic. A girl could dream.

Olivia gasped. "Daddy!" She began pulling planks off of him, and I helped her. We finally got him free. "Are you hurt?"

He sighed. "My arms hurts a bit. I'm not important, though. You need to help Carmen!"

I laughed. "She would probably kill herself if we left you here. No use in going now."

He frowned. "I feel like you're exaggerating, but... Alright."

Olivia knelt down and put her hands on his arm. "This is something I learned before mom went crazy and, you know, did this." She closed her eyes, and her hands let off a glowing amber light. I saw Mr. Harvey's face relax as she took her hands away.

"Olivia, you're a dear. Thank you for healing me. Now, about Carmen. When she escaped, I would assume she went to her mother's. Check there."

I wrote down the address he told us and grabbed onto Olivia's arm. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Harvey."

"You're welcome, Megan, is it?" I nodded and he smiled. "Good luck. From what Roseanne has told me, your actions will easily change the fate of your friends. The world, even."

And on that happy note, we teleported to Carmen's house.

The house wasn't destroyed it anything. I saw Mrs. Paige running about, looking quite worried. "Excuse me!" I called. "Mrs. Paige?"

She turned her attention to us. "You aren't demons, are you?"

"No." Olivia lied before I could say anything. "I'm Olivia Harvey, from church a few years ago?"

Her face lit up in remembrance. "Oh yes! You were such a sweet young girl. Sorry I'm such a mess, Carmen's making me go somewhere unexpectedly.

"Carmen was here?" I interrupted.

She looked at me. "Yes, she came by about ten minutes ago telling me to leave. Do you know her?"

I put out my hand. "I'm Megan Gremory. I go to school with Carmen in California. I'm here because she's in danger, Mrs. Paige."

"She's talked about you. So she wasn't lying, then. There really is a demon after her."

Olivia nodded. "We came here to help her. Do you have any idea where she would've gone?"

Mrs. Paige shrugged. "She told me about all that's happened. She looking for some demon named Luna-"

"Equinox." I corrected.

"Right. And she didn't really know where to go, though I'd assume she headed north to New York."

"New York City." Olivia whispered.

"Maybe she's there, she didn't really specify. Besides, she was being chased by this demon."

"No she wasn't. It was a different demon."

"Really?" She asked. "I'm not sure I want to know, but how many demons are there in the world?"

"A lot." I confirmed. "And I'm pretty sure we're about to go fight a good number of them."

Mrs. Paige looked sad. "You don't have to, you know. I'd never forgive myself if someone died for my daughter. I appreciate you wanting to help, but..."

"Equinox took one of my best friends." I said determinedly. "It's not just about Carmen anymore."

She nodded. "I see. Well, be safe, both of you. I wish you luck." I smiled and began to walk away. "Oh, and could you do me a favor? Tell Carmen she was an amazing daughter and that I love her. Just in case I don't see her again."

I knew what she was implying. I promised I would and we took off. "Olivia, why are you so quiet?"

She stared off into space. "I'm so stupid. How did I not think of New York City?"

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"There's a large demon population in the city. And since there's so many buildings, it's easy to hide a fortress from mortal eyes."

I furrowed my eyebrows but decided she knew what she was doing. "And you think Carmen's there?"

"Oh I know she's there." Olivia laughed. "Carmen's a smart girl, she must have figured it out. I highly doubt she died in that fight, either." I latched onto her arm and we both thought of the same place.

Bright lights flashed before me. The sun was nearly set in the distance. Cars whizzed past me, blowing my hair into my face. "Welcome to New York." Olivia said.

I looked at all the crowds of people. "How are we going to find Equinox in all of this?"

Olivia shrugged. "It's about nine right now, want to find a hotel to stay in? No point in fighting if we're exhausted."

Even though it was only six o'clock for me, I was pretty tired. Teleporting takes a lot out of you. I agreed, but we had a slight problem. "We don't have any money."

Olivia smirked. "You know, I do t normally do this, but we're desperate and saving the world."

She looked at an ATM around the corner, and suddenly hundred dollar bills began flying at her. "Let's just hope no one notices that."

"Olivia!" I scolded. "That's stealing!"

"Banks cheat people out of their money all the time. Besides, if we lose this fight these people won't be able to use their money. They'll be under demon control."

It still felt wrong, but she was kind of right. I reluctantly agreed, based on the fact that she would be paying with the stolen money, not me. We walked for a good hour trying to find a hotel, but Olivia finally found one she liked. We paid for our room and went to it, ready to relax.

I got very excited when I saw that they had Xbox controllers in the drawers. "Look, they even have Minecraft for the Xbox!" I said excitedly.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Have fun, I'm going to take a nice, long shower." I set up the game as she left the room.

When she came back an hour later, I was engrossed in my game. "Megan." She tapped me on the shoulder.

"Shh. I'm trying to beat up a blaze. DIE!" I yelled, pressing the buttons to swing my diamond sword frantically.

"Megan, get some sleep." Olivia said.

"Hey! You pulled out my plug!" She gave me a look and I sighed, knowing she was right. "I'll go to bed now. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. See you in the morning."

She began snoring almost immediately. I, on the other hand, stared at the ceiling forever. I heard shouts outside and a police car go by, but I didn't think anything of it because this was normal for a city. I eventually drifted off into dreamless sleep.

"Megan." A girl's voice said. "Megan, wake up."

"Go away, Annette. I'll make you pancakes some other time." I moaned.

"Get up!" Olivia yelled and I bolted upright. "Have you looked out the window lately?"

I glanced at the clock. It was midnight. "Olivia, I need to sleep. Is this really the best time to ask me to look out a window?"

She groaned. "Megan, there is a giant castle by the Statue of Liberty. This is kind of important."

I looked at Lady Liberty. "There's nothing there."

Olivia looked confused, but then facepalmed. "I forgot you were mortal. She probably put enchantments on it so only magical beings could see it."

"She?" I asked. "Do you honestly think Equinox put a giant invisible castle right there?"

"It's not invisible!" She insisted. "Come on, get up! We've got to get over there!"

I groaned. "Fine." We both put on some clothes and prepared to teleport.

"You ready?" Olivia asked. "We could be greeted by all sorts of weapons."

I took a deep breath. "Let's do it."

I opened my eyes, expecting to find millions of demons. Instead, I found familiar faces. "Megan?" Adam asked me.

I adjusted my hair. "Oh. Hey, sweetie."

"Did you just fall out of thin air?"

_Solstice POV_

I heard a sudden roar from behind me. I spun around, and found the noise had come from the still open portal. Looked like I had a welcoming party to greet me in there…. But... screw it, I didn't feel like fighting so soon. I had more than enough strength to teleport alone. I felt a popping noise in my ears, and I was standing at the edge of the island. I saw a large, ominous castle, and near it, everyone had converged. I didn't know how, but even Megan had shown up, along with two demon slayers whom couldn't have gotten here so quickly, and a girl I couldn't identify. But she reaked of demi-demon.

Walking up, I disrupted what sounded like an explination of how Megan got there.

"S-S-SOLTICE SIR!" The two slayers said in surprise, saluting.

"Jewels, are these two …"

"Yes, yes they are."

I felt like hitting my head against a wall, but I didn't at that moment. But it didn't matter.

"You two, I hope you are ready for –"

"Why? What did you do?" Asked the other girl. I turned my gaze to her, and felt a tingle in my eyes. I started to read her soul, and she was in fact a demi-demon. Her name was.. Olivia. Ok, good to know.

"Olivia, you will see in a moment."

And contradicting my own words, portals began opening. Out marched demon slayers dressed in their gear, each portal having a different symbol on the shoulder. Out of every portal, a individual stepped out first, with unique clothing on. Slayers appeared in flashes. All of them heroically wielding glowing swords, bows in hands or strapped over their backs, some wielding maces, some axes, a few whips, a entire legion wielding pistols and guns.

Roaring could be heard from nearly all directions, and flying through the sky were angels, dressed in slayers clothes, each carrying bows, their wings shining nearly every color viewable by human, their bodies glowing the same color as their wings. Behind them were other slayers, with white dragon wings, and bulky armor that resembled a dragons. In fact, their helmets looks exactly like a dragon's would.

In the far distance, closing in quickly to their location, were two large dragons. They were a silver color, and their scales were incredibly radiant, shining like miniature suns. On their backs, you could see slayers holding on to the back of the large spikes coming out from the base of the spine.

Thousands upon thousands of slayers were appearing, converging onto this one spot: Slayers were practically filling up the entire island, and angels and draconian among other winged races flew around in the air. More and more appeared, standing in formation holding their weapons on invisible platforms in the air. The two dragons landed in the bay, making the water rise up suddenly, as their massive forms stood intimately.

At the east and west ends of the island, giants rose out of the ocean, water being displaced and dripping down from them in large amounts. They wore very stretched white chainmail and carried large blue swords, their heights equaling three times that of a normal human.

A whirlpool formed, and out rose a blue-green leviathan, with black eyes that gleamed with intelligence, covered in white armor. From the water surrounding it, slayers leaped out of the water onto the land, wearing white armor slightly covered in rust ,which regardless gleamed in the sunlight. The carried polished white spears in their hands, and had a sheathed sword at their sides.

I watched as more and more slayers appeared before turning back around. Everyone but Jewels was looking upon this sight with shock: In fact, Felis had fainted.

"The slayers have been called to war." I said, grinning.

**Well, THAT is what I call an epic chapter finisher.**

**U, why did you apear again?**

**BECAUSE I CAN!**

**And you ate potato chips? This is what I mean by him having all the fun.**

**Well, now that we poured our heart and souls into 6,000 words for you, could you do us a favor and leave us a 50-word review?**

**Today we ask you: What is Carmen's advantage?**

**If you actually read this whole thing, post in the reviews: I survived the Finale: Part Two!**


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